In vineyards the presence of certain fungi may lead to the production of the mycotoxin ochratoxin A (OTA) and subsequent contamination of grapes and wine. Furthermore, winery wastewaters contaminated with OTA may represent an environmental hazard. Therefore, it is imperative to assess the fate of this mycotoxin in conventional wastewater treatment systems. The aim of the present work was to ass...

One-hundred and twenty-three barley samples from a region of Spain (Navarra) were analysed in order to evaluate the possible co-occurrence of aflatoxins (AFB1, AFG1, AFB2 and AFG2), ochratoxin A (OTA) and zearalenone (ZEA). The results indicated that 80% of the samples presented detectable, although very low levels, of two or more mycotoxins. The most frequent combinations were AFB1 and OTA; AF...

Mycotoxins are natural contaminants of cereals and other commodities throughout the world. They are produced by various strains of moulds, particularly in tropical countries. Due to significant trade of cereals, humans in temperate countries can also be exposed to mycotoxins. The most common route of exposure to mycotoxins is ingestion, but it may also involve dermal, respiratory, and parentera...

The mycoflora, levels of afllatoxins and the presence of ochratoxin A and zearalenone in nuts of Cola acuminata and C. nitida were determined immediately after curing and after 3, 6 and 9 months of storage in leaf-lined baskets. Five field fungi and 11 storage fungi were isolated. Aspergillus, Penicillium and Fusarium were the predominant genera. None of the target toxins was detected immediate...

Ochratoxin A (OTA) contamination has been established as a world-wide problem. In this study, the strains with the ability of OTA production were screened by analyzing the green fluorescence of the isolates colonies from the grapes in Zhenjiang with 365 nm UV light and confirmed by HPLC with fluorescent detection (HPLC-FLD). The results showed that seven isolates acquired the characteristic of ...

In spite of the taxonomy of the Aspergillus species of the Nigri Section being regarded as troublesome, a number of methods have been proposed to aid in the classification of this Section. This work aimed to distinguish Aspergillus species of the Nigri Section from foods, grains and caves on the basis in Polyphasic Taxonomy by utilizing morphologic and physiologic characters, and sequencing of ...

Ochratoxin A is a mycotoxin present in several food products for which levels should be reduced. Chemical, physical, and biological methods have been proposed for the detoxification of mycotoxins, biological methods being the more promising ones. In this report, filamentous fungi isolated from Portuguese grapes were assessed for ochratoxin A degradation capabilities. It was observed that 51 of ...

Ochratoxin A is a mycotoxin produced mainly by Penicillium verrucosum and Aspergillus ochraceus. Although typically considered a cereal contaminant, it has also been detected in dried fruit, nuts, meat and derivatives. To estimate the quantity of ochratoxin A that might be ingested by Italian consumers from these foods, 211 cereal derivatives (flours and bakery products) were analysed by high-p...

A monoclonal antibody specific to ochratoxin B (OTB) was employed for the development of an indirect competitive OTB-ELISA. The optimized OTB-ELISA resulted in a limit of detection (LOD) for OTB of 3 µg/L (8 nM), a limit of quantification (LOQ) of 3.7 µg/L (10 nM), and a 50% inhibitory concentration (IC(50)) of 150 nM. Due to very low cross-reactivity to OTA (2.7%) and structurally related mole...

Spores from the toxigenic organism Aspergillus ochraceus NRRL-3174 were exposed to specific levels of gamma irradiation and then allowed to germinate on selected media. Increases in ochratoxin A production by irradiated, compared to non-irradiated, spores were observed after inoculation of spores onto a cracked red wheat or into a synthetic liquid medium. Variations in daily ochratoxin producti...