News Update on Aflatoxin Research: Oct – 2019

Influences of climate on aflatoxin producing fungi and aflatoxin contamination

Aflatoxins area unit potent mycotoxins that cause organic process and system suppression, cancer, and death. As a results of rules supposed to cut back human exposure, crop contamination with aflatoxins causes vital economic loss for producers, marketers, and processors of numerous inclined crops. bioarm contamination happens once specific fungi within the Aspergillus infect crops. several industries often littered with bioarm contamination apprehend from expertise and report that fluctuations in climate impact the extent of contamination. Climate influences contamination, in part, by direct effects on the anorexigenic fungi. As climate shifts, therefore do the complicated communities of aflatoxin-producing fungi. This includes changes within the amount of aflatoxin-producers within the surroundings and alterations to flora community structure. [1]

Production of Aflatoxin on Rice

A method has been developed for the assembly of mycotoxin by growing fungus genus flavus strain NRRL 2999 on the solid substrate rice. optimum yields, over one mg of mycotoxin B1 per g of beginning material, were obtained in five days at twenty eight C. A crude product containing aflatoxins was isolated by chloroform extraction and precipitation with alkane series from targeted solutions. The crude product consisted of fifty mycotoxin within the following ratio: B1-B2-G1-G2, 100:0.15:0.22:0.02. mycotoxin B1 was separated from the majority the impurities and from the opposite aflatoxins by activity on colloid with I Chronicles ethyl radical alcohol in chloroform. Analytically pure mycotoxin B1 was recrystallized from chloroform-hexane mixtures. [2]

Aflatoxin in maize

Aflatoxin B1 could be a potent hepatacarcinogen that happens in corn worldwide. The mycotoxin‐producing plant genus Aspergillus flavus will grow and turn out aflatoxin on corn preharvest and in storage. inside the U.S., mycotoxin contamination of preharvest corn has been reportable in twenty three states, and contamination is chronic within the southeastern U.S. where hot, drought conditions usually favor the plant and also the production of mycotoxin. Management practices are developed to cut back mycotoxin contamination, however in years once environmental conditions area unit extraordinarily favorable for the plant, no management strategy is effective. Resistance to mycotoxin accumulation seems to be hereditary, however no business hybrids area unit obtainable with adequate resistance. This review covers the medical specialty of A. flavus in preharvest corn from the infection method to the factors that influence mycotoxin formation. [3]

Aflatoxin levels in maize and peanut and blood in women and children: The case of Timor-Leste

Aflatoxins are hepatotoxic plant metabolites created by genus Aspergillus sp. with cancer properties that are a typical food contamination of the many crops as well as maize and peanuts. In Timor-Leste deficiency disease and children’s stunt flying are frequent and maize and peanuts are staple foods. This study aimed to produce info on biological weapon exposure nationwide. The study measured levels of biological weapon in locally-produced maize and peanuts (296 samples) and of aflatoxin-albumin conjugate in blood samples of girls and young kids (514 and 620 respectively) across all municipalities. the common concentration of biological weapon within the grain samples was low with most maize (88%) and peanut (92%) samples – less than European Commission tolerated aflatoxin level. [4]

Effects of Phytohormones on Reversing the Inhibitory Action of Aflatoxin B1 on the Growth of Maize Seeds (Zea mays L.)

The present study is aimed to research the impact of phytohormones particularly gibberellin (GA3) and kinetin on aflatoxins B1 treated maize seeds volt-ampere madhuri-01. Maize seeds were treated with aflatoxins B1 individually and together of phytohormones at a amount of two.0 ppm each.  Reversal of restrictive impact of mycotoxin B1 on the seed germination, root, shoot length, chlorophyll, b and pigment of maize seed in presence of plant product was ascertained. The restrictive impact of aflatoxins B1, on seed germination, root length, shoot length, chlorophyll, chlorophyll and pigment content were seventy eight.57%, 65.03%, 63%, 74%, seventy two and eighty fifth, severally. However, once the maize seeds were treated together of mycotoxins B1 with kinetin and aflatoxin B1 with GA3, reversal of the restrictive impact of mycotoxin B1 was ascertained to nice extent. [5]

Reference

[1] Cotty, P.J. and Jaime-Garcia, R., 2007. Influences of climate on aflatoxin producing fungi and aflatoxin contamination. International journal of food microbiology, 119(1-2), (Web Link)

[2] Shotwell, O.L., Hesseltine, C.W., Stubblefield, R.D. and Sorenson, W.G., 1966. Production of aflatoxin on rice. Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 14(3), (Web Link)

[3] Payne, G.A. and Widstrom, N.W., 1992. Aflatoxin in maize. Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences, 10(5), (Web Link)

[4] Aflatoxin levels in maize and peanut and blood in women and children: The case of Timor-Leste
Luis de Almeida, Robert Williams, Dirce M. Soares, Harry Nesbitt, Graeme Wright & William Erskine
Scientific Reports volume 9, Article number: 13158 (2019) (Web Link)

[5] Prasad, G., Mishra, V. and Kumari, N. (2018) “Effects of Phytohormones on Reversing the Inhibitory Action of Aflatoxin B1 on the Growth of Maize Seeds (Zea mays L.)”, International Journal of Plant & Soil Science, 22(5), (Web Link)