INTRODUCTION In well-developed countries scant attention is currently devoted to the risk of unknown exposure to aflatoxins, highly toxic and carcinogenic compounds. Nevertheless, unexpected ingestion of foods contaminated by these toxins can occasionally occur virtually worldwide. CASE PRESENTATION A 38-year-old woman living in Northern Italy developed unexplained abdominal symptoms after in...

Aflatoxins are carcinogenic substances produced by fungi and due to the growth of fungi in a wide range of commodities including cereals, nuts, figs and spices, it is necessary to test such products for the presence of aflatoxins prior to their incorporation into other foodstuff or feeds. There is a need for a quick, simple test which can be used to check a diverse range of foodstuff. Two diffe...

CONTEXT Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by certain toxigenic fungi and the most of them are aflatoxins, fumonisins, trichothecenes, ochratoxin A, patulin, and zearalenone. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION In consideration of the consumption of certain farm products for animal feed and the prevalence of toxigenic fungi and mycotoxins in food, the present study was performed to evaluate this ...

Received: July 5, 2005 Accepted: August 19, 2005 Aflatoxins are toxic by-products produced by the fungi Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus. These toxins can infect a variety of grains and oilseeds, but most often occur in corn, the predominant feed grain in North America. Four principle metabolites have been characterized and identified as aflatoxins B1, G1, B2, and G2, but the B1 m...

Aflatoxins (AFs) are cancerous secondary metabolites produced primarily by Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus in agricultural foodstuff such as peanuts, maize grains, cereals, and animal feeds. Food and Agricultural organization (FAO) estimated that as much as 25% of the world’s agricultural commodities are contaminated with mycotoxins, leading to significant economic losses. Moreov...

This paper describes total determination of aflatoxins B1 and B2 in pistachio samples using corona discharge ion mobility spectrometry (IMS). A new injection port was designed to introduce liquid samples into the IMS. Using this port, the liquid solvent (methanol) containing standard aflatoxins or an extracted sample was directly introduced into the injection port. Calibration curves resulting ...

Aflatoxins are natural secondary metabolites produced by some moulds (mainly Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus) and are contaminants of agricultural commodities in the field particularly in critical temperature and humidity conditions before or during harvest or because of inappropriate storage (Rustom, 1997; Sweeney & Dobson, 1998). Aflatoxins B1 (AFB1) and B2 (AFB2), producted by...

Aflatoxins are highly toxic compounds that are produced as secondary metabolites by some Aspergillus and Emericella species. Despite huge progress on aflatoxin research during the past 50 years, we have witnessed many cases of food contamination with aflatoxins all over the world. Aflatoxins have mutagenic and carcinogenic effects and they are capable of inducing hepatocellular carcinoma in hum...

The efficacy of color sorting on reducing aflatoxin levels in shelled apricot kernels was assessed. Naturally-contaminated kernels were submitted to an electronic optical sorter or blanched, peeled, and manually sorted to visually identify and sort discolored kernels (dark and spotted) from healthy ones. The samples obtained from the two sorting approaches were ground, homogenized, and analysed...

Received: 06, May, 2015 Final Accepted: 11, June, 2015 Published Online: 16, June, 2015 Aquaculture is an activity that has many interactions with the surrounding environment using resources and producing changes in the ecological system. Aflatoxins are distributed worldwide. Aspergillus species are able to grow in a wide variety of substrates and under different environmental conditions. Toxin...