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Mycotoxins are naturally occurring toxins that frequently contaminate food and feed and are primarily synthesized by moulds from the genera Aspergillus, Penicillium, Fusarium, Alternaria and Claviceps. These substances are very stable compounds, resistant to different conditions of food production, processing and storage. Mycotoxins can cause a number of adverse effects on human and animal health, so-called mycotoxicoses, including carcinogenicity, mutagenicity, genotoxicity, immunotoxicity, neurotoxicity, hepatotoxicity, nephrotoxicity, and others, often acting simultaneously at multiple target sites in the body, depending on the toxicity of the mycotoxin itself and the dose and time of exposure. A large number of mycotoxins still lack sufficient evidence of their adverse effects on human health, but based on the established susceptibility of different animal species, it is assumed that similar effects can be induced in humans. At the same time, for most mycotoxins that occur frequently in food and feed, their effects in the body have not been elucidated and can vary from antagonistic to synergistic. This paper provides an overview of the mechanisms of action of mycotoxins of major public health importance and their toxic effects in the body. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mycotoxins are toxic substances that frequently contaminate food and feed, causing adverse effects on human and animal health and significant economic losses around the world. This paper gives an overview of the current research and knowledge of mycotoxin biological detoxification methods. Biological detoxification implies the use of microorganisms and their enzymes with the aim of degrading or modifying the mycotoxin structure, resulting in the transformation of the original compounds and the formation of less toxic products, or decontamination of mycotoxins. However, previous research and findings have not yet resulted in application in the food and livestock industry, or by approving their use by legislation. Further research is needed on biodegradation mechanisms, microorganism safety, or influence of the application of biological methods on nutritional properties and resulting degradation products, so that mycotoxin biological detoxification methods can be effectively applied in the industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites of the moulds that pose a significant problem in the field of food safety and risk to the health and well-being of humans and animals. The effectiveness of mycotoxin removal from food and feed, primarily cereals as the most contaminated food group, depends on a number of parameters, of which the properties of the contaminated material, its composition, primary water content and the level of contamination, are the most significant. This manuscript provides an overview of physical and chemical methods that can be used more or less effectively in the treatment of different types of food and feed with the aim of mycotoxins reduction or elimination. Elimination of mycotoxins by physical methods involves their solvent extraction, adsorption and thermal inactivation or irradiation inactivation. The most important methods are color and density sorting, peeling and milling, flotation, blanching, roasting, with the use of gamma radiation and cold plasma is very important in the last period. Implementation of chemical methods involve the use of chemicals in conversion of mycotoxins to other less toxic compounds, e.g. acids, alkalis, oxidants, bisulphites and gases, but conversion to toxic compounds is also possible, and is still the subject of numerous studies. Unlike physical methods, chemical methods of mycotoxins elimination are in principle considered to be impractical and undesirable due to the conditions of implementation, the creation of toxic residues and a negative impact on the nutritional, sensory and functional properties of the product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Representatives of environmental contaminants are heavy metals, dioxins, organophosphorus and organochlorine compounds, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), pesticides and mycotoxins. Their presence in food of animal origin can be due to the animal feeding with contaminated food and water (carry-over effect) or direct contamination as a result of contaminated ingredients in production (e.g. spices) or generally inappropriate conditions in food processing. Toxicity of environmental chemicals that enter the food chain through their occurrence as residues in food of animal origin can be manifested in the human organism by adverse biological activity. Toxic effects among consumers depend inter alia on the amount of individual contaminants in food and their intake into the body. In order to reduce risk of exposure to chemical toxicants present in the food of animal origin, it is important to carry out systematic controls at all critical points during the production and storage process, starting from the raw materials used in the production to the final product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contamination of food by mycotoxins represent a serious threat to human health, especially when it comes to food that is very frequently used in the diet, but also represent a significant source of mycotoxins. The reduction of mycotoxins by procedures of food processing can be achieved by its degradation, elimination or transformation into less toxic derivatives, although complete elimination of mycotoxins from the food chain through processing is difficult to achieve. Techniques for elimination of mycotoxins should be preceded by the determination of the chemical composition and toxicity of resulting reaction product. In the absence of the necessary toxicological data, for the forms of mycotoxins that are produced during the processing of food is assumed to have the same level of toxicity, the same bioavailability and the same carcinogenic potential as the original compounds. Priority for the development of elimination methods should have mycotoxins with undesirable toxicological profiles that are frequently and in high concentrations occur in often consumed foods. The ultimate goal of the application of these methods is to prevent the harmful effects of mycotoxins to the health of consumers as a result of exposure to food contaminants, taking care to preserve nutrient and organoleptic properties of raw materials as also of finished products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One strain of Aspergillus flavus ATCC 26949 and one strain of Fusarium graminearum ZMPBF 1244 were used to investigate the effect of growth in mixed culture on aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) accumulation in respect to time and temperature of cultivation in vitro. The experiments were carried out with aflatoxigenous mould A. flavus ATCC 26949 in pure culture and in mixed culture, respectively, the latter with the common mould F. graminearum ZMPBF 1244. F. graminearum does not produce aflatoxins and chromatographycally similar compounds. The amount of biomass was estimated by measuring the chitin content; the aflatoxin accumulation by means of UV light and ELISA method. It was established that the accumulation of AFB1 primarily depend on the temperature of cultivation, rather than on growth of the mycelium. The biomass of the mixed culture of A. flavus and F. graminearum after 35 days of cultivation reduces the amount of AFB1 by 55 to 76% in respect to highest values obtained in experiments with the pure culture of A. flavus. Decrease of this toxin amount is more pronounced in the substrate at the higher water content and at the higher temperature of cultivation. As a general rule, cultures grown in mixed culture under investigate temperature conditions produced less amount of AFB1 than A. flavus grown in pure culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]