How does active yeast supplementation reduce the deleterious effects of aflatoxins in Wistar rats? A radiolabeled assay and histopathological study.

The aim of this study was to investigate the mechanisms by which yeasts (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) control the toxic effects of aflatoxins, which are not yet fully understood. Radiolabeled aflatoxin B1 (AFB13H) was administered by gavage to Wistar rats fed with aflatoxin (AflDiet) and aflatoxin supplemented with active dehydrated yeast Y904 (AflDiet + Yeast). The distribution of AFB13H and its metabolites were analyzed at 24, 48 and 72 h by tracking back of the radioactivity. No significant differences were observed between the AflDiet and AflDiet + Yeast groups in terms of the distribution of labeled aflatoxin. At 72 h, for the AflDiet group the radiolabeled aflatoxin was distributed as following: feces (79.5%), carcass (10.5%), urine (1.7%), and intestine (7.4%); in the AflDiet + Yeast the following distribution was observed: feces (76%), carcass (15%), urine (2.9%), and intestine (4.9%). These values were below 1% in other organs. These findings indicate that even after 72 h considerable amounts of aflatoxins remains in the intestines, which may play a significant role in the distribution and metabolism of aflatoxins and its metabolites over time. The presence of yeast may not significantly affect this process. Furthermore, histopathological examination of hepatic tissues showed that the presence of active yeast reduced the severity of liver damage caused by aflatoxins, indicating that yeasts control aflatoxin damage through biochemical mechanisms. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying the protective effects of yeasts against aflatoxin toxicity.

Mycotoxins and pyrrolizidine alkaloids in herbal dietary supplements.

The market demand for herbal dietary supplements is rapidly growing and such products are becoming more common and accessible to consumers. However, the knowledge about their safety remains incomplete. Herbal dietary supplements are one of the food groups that can contribute significantly to human health concerns arising from chronic exposure to pyrrolizidine alkaloids and mycotoxins. This study aimed to simultaneously determine 79 natural contaminants, including mycotoxins, as well as pyrrolizidine and tropane alkaloids in herbal dietary supplements in one analytical run. Exposure assessment and human health risks were assessed for all compounds included in this study. The total concentration of naturally occurring contaminants in herbal dietary supplements reached 5.3 mg kg-1 and the most frequently detected mycotoxins were tentoxin and alternariol monomethyl ether. The latter was detected with the highest frequency, reaching concentrations up to 2.5 mg kg-1. The obtained results indicate a potential risk to public health related to herbal dietary supplement consumption.

Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Yeast Cell Wall Extract Supple-Mentation during Mycotoxin Challenges on the Performance of Laying Hens.

A random-effects meta-analysis was conducted to investigate the effect of mycotoxins (MT) without or with the inclusion of yeast cell wall extract (YCWE, Mycosorb®, Alltech, Inc., Nicholasville, KY, USA) on laying hen performance. A total of 25 trials were collected from a literature search, and data were extracted from 8 of these that met inclusion criteria, for a total of 12 treatments and 1774 birds. Laying hens fed MT had lower (p < 0.05) body weight (BW) by -50 g, egg production by -6.3 percentage points, and egg weight by -1.95 g than control fed hens (CTRL). Inclusion of YCWE during the mycotoxin challenges (YCWE + MT) resulted in numerically greater (p = 0.441) BW by 12.5 g, while egg production and egg weight were significantly (p < 0.0001) higher by 4.2 percentage points and 1.37 g, respectively. Furthermore, economic assessment calculations indicated that YCWE may not only support hen performance but also resulted in a positive return on investment. In conclusion, mycotoxins can play a role in negatively impacting laying hen performance and profitability. Inclusion of YCWE in feed with mycotoxin challenges provided benefits to egg production and egg weight and may support profitability. As such, the inclusion of YCWE could play an important role in minimizing mycotoxin effects and in turn aid farm efficiency and profitability.

Natural feed additives and bioactive supplements versus chemical additives as a safe and practical approach to combat foodborne mycotoxicoses.

This review highlights the possible hazard of mycotoxins occurrence in foods and feeds in regards to foodborne diseases. The possible management of the risk of contamination of foods and feeds with mycotoxins by using natural feed additives, protecting against deleterious effects of mycotoxins or inhibiting the growth of fungi and mycotoxin production, is deeply investigated in the available literature and some effective measures for safe utilization of mycotoxin contaminated feed/food are proposed. The biological methods of decontamination, degradation or biotransformation of mycotoxins are deeply analyzed and discussed. Some natural antagonists against target fungi are also reviewed and a comparison is made with conventional fungicides for ensuring a safe prevention of mycotoxin contamination. The most common and useful chemical methods of mycotoxins decontamination of agricultural commodities or raw materials are also investigated, e.g., chemical additives inactivating or destroying and/or adsorbing mycotoxins as well as chemical additives inhibiting the growth of fungi and mycotoxin production. The practical use and safety of various kind of feed/food additives or herbal/biological supplements as possible approach for ameliorating the adverse effects of some dangerous mycotoxins is deeply investigated and some suggestions are given. Various possibilities for decreasing mycotoxins toxicity, e.g., by clarifying the mechanisms of their toxicity and using some target antidotes and vitamins as supplements to the diet, are also studied in the literature and appropriate discussions or suggestions are made in this regard. Some studies on animal diets such as low carbohydrate intake, increased protein content, calorie restriction or the importance of dietary fats are also investigated in the available literature for possible amelioration of the ailments associated with mycotoxins exposure. It could be concluded that natural feed additives and bioactive supplements would be more safe and practical approach to combat foodborne mycotoxicoses as compared to chemical additives.

Comprehensive and cumulative risk evaluation of dietary exposure to aflatoxins and ochratoxin A on fermented teas worldwide by a new assessment model.

Recently, mycotoxin risks in fermented tea have received high attention, but mycotoxin transfer rates from tealeaf to infusion during brewing were rarely considered. In addition, the assessment data (i.e., mycotoxin occurrences and tea consumption) in previous assessments were usually limited. Here, a comprehensive and cumulative risk assessment of aflatoxins and ochratoxin A was performed using a tea assessment model, by which mycotoxin transfer rates were included and the assessment data were collected worldwide. By 10 times of brewing, the aflatoxin transfer rate was only 2.94% and OTA was 63.65%. Besides the extreme case, hazard quotients (HQs) from all consumers were lower than the threshold of 1.0, indicating no noncarcinogenic risk; the P95 cumulative margin of exposure (1/MoET) values were 2.52E-04 (30-39 years of age) and 2.42E-04 (≥50 years of age) for two high exposure groups under the upper bound scenario, which a little higher than the carcinogenic risk threshold of 1.00E-04. Notably, the P95 cumulative 1/MoET values (3.24E-03 -7.95E-03) by food assessment model were ten times higher than those of by tea assessment model. The comparative results showed that mycotoxin dietary risks on tea consumption by food assessment model were much overestimated. The result of this study indicated that the contaminants transfer rates should be considered for risk assessment on tea consumption in future work.

Determination of mycobiota and aflatoxin contamination in commercial bee pollen from eight provinces and one autonomous region of China.

The co-occurrence of fungi and mycotoxins in various foods has been frequently reported in many countries, posing a serious threat to the health and safety of consumers. In this study, the mycobiota in five types of commercial bee pollen samples from China were first revealed by DNA metabarcoding. Meanwhile, the content of total aflatoxins in each sample was investigated by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. The results demonstrated that Cladosporium (0.16 %-89.29 %) was the most prevalent genus in bee pollen, followed by Metschnikowia (0-81.12 %), unclassified genus in the phylum Ascomycota (0-81.13 %), Kodamaea (0-73.57 %), and Penicillium (0-36.13 %). Meanwhile, none of the assayed aflatoxins were determined in the 18 batches of bee pollen samples. In addition, the fungal diversity, community composition, and trophic mode varied significantly among five groups. This study provides comprehensive information for better understanding the fungal communities and aflatoxin residues in bee pollen from different floral origins in China.

Relevant mycotoxins in oil crops, vegetable oils, de-oiled cake and meals: Occurrence, control, and recent advances in elimination.

Mycotoxins in agricultural commodities have always been a concern due to their negative impacts on human and livestock health. Issues associated with quality control, hot and humid climate, improper storage, and inappropriate production can support the development of fungus, causing oil crops to suffer from mycotoxin contamination, which in turn migrates to the resulting oil, de-oiled cake and meals during the oil processing. Related research which supports the development of multi-mycotoxin prevention programs has resulted in satisfactory mitigation effects, mainly in the pre-harvest stage. Nevertheless, preventive actions are unlikely to avoid the occurrence of mycotoxins completely, so removal strategies may still be necessary to protect consumers. Elimination of mycotoxin has been achieved broadly through the physical, biological, or chemical course. In view of the steadily increasing volume of scientific literature regarding mycotoxins, there is a need for ongoing integrated knowledge systems. This work revisited the knowledge of mycotoxins affecting oilseeds, food oils, cake, and meals, focusing more on their varieties, toxicity, and preventive strategies, including the methods adopted in the decontamination, which supplement the available information.

Changes in the nutrient profile and the load of mycotoxins, phytoestrogens, and pesticides in horse pastures during spring and summer in Austria.

Pastures are used for grazing and the production of conserved roughage in horses. Yet, the nutritional profile of the forage varies from spring to late summer, affecting equine nutrient supply and health. In addition, environmental factors may also favor plant contaminants such as mycotoxins. This study aimed to determine the nutritional profile and contaminant load of selected horse pastures from early spring till late summer. The nutrient composition (main macronutrients, macro elements and trace elements), as well as mycotoxins, metabolites, pesticides, and plant-derived compounds of seven horse pastures were analyzed. Each pasture was sampled three times and the samples were categorized according to the status of the pasture plants: ear emergence, early- till full bloom, and drought-damaged vegetation. Drought-damaged pastures demonstrated a rise in the acid to neutral detergent fiber ratio, calcium, iron, and magnesium but lower potassium contents. Mycotoxins and other contaminants were found in the pastures including 64 fungal compounds (ergot alkaloids (13) and metabolites from Fusarium (21), Aspergillus (2), Penicillium (8), Alternaria (8) and other fungal species (12), one bacterial metabolite (cereulide), twelve plant metabolites (including eight phytoestrogens and three cyanogenic glycosides (linamarin, lotaustralin and prunasin)), 11 nonspecific metabolites and six pesticides. Fusarium metabolites showed the highest concentrations among the fungal metabolites and drought-induced stress increased the contamination levels (range: 123-3873 µg/kg DM). In conclusion, there was a dominant effect of the developmental stages of the plants, botanical composition of the pastures and weather conditions on the nutritional composition and presence of contaminants on pastures.

Simultaneous Determination of Pesticide Residues and Mycotoxins in Storage Pu-erh Tea Using Ultra-High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Coupled with Tandem Mass Spectrometry.

Mycotoxins and pesticides are the most concerning chemical contaminants that can affect the quality of Pu-erh tea during its production and storage. This study presents a method that can simultaneously determine 31 pesticide residues and six mycotoxins in Pu-erh tea within 11 min using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) after QuEChERS extraction. The lower limit of quantification (LOQ) for all analytes ranged between 0.06 and 50 ppb. Recoveries for each pesticide and mycotoxin ranged between 62.0 and 130.3%, with intra- and inter-day precisions lower than 15%. Good linear relationships were obtained, with correlation coefficients of r2 > 0.991 for all analytes. The established method was applied to 31 Pu-erh tea samples, including raw and ripened Pu-erh tea with different storage times. As a result, pesticide residues were not detected in any of the collected samples, and the mycotoxins detected in the samples were well below the official maximum residue limits (MRLs). Notably, the levels of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), aflatoxin G1 (AFG1) and aflatoxin G2 (AFG2) were lower than 1 ppb in the samples stored for more than 30 years.

Use of Yeast Cell Wall Extract for Growing Pigs Consuming Feed Contaminated with Mycotoxins below or above Regulatory Guidelines: A Meta-Analysis with Meta-Regression.

Using a random-effects meta-analysis, the performance of growing pigs under a mycotoxin challenge (MT) with or without supplementation of yeast cell wall extract (YCWE, Mycosorb®, Alltech Inc.) was evaluated. Both MT and YCWE were also compared to animal controls not receiving mycotoxins (CTRL). Meta-regression was used to further explore the impacts of MT at/below (category 1) or above (category 2) global regulatory guidelines. Following the screening, 23 suitable references (30 mycotoxin treatments) were used. Overall, MT lowered average daily gain (ADG, p < 0.001) and average daily feed intake (ADFI, p < 0.0001) from CTRL by -84 and -165 g, respectively. Inclusion of YCWE during mycotoxin challenges (YCWE+MT, average 2.1 kg/ton) tended to result in greater ADG (+17 g, p = 0.068) compared to MT treatments. The gain-to-feed ratio (G:F) was not impacted by MT or YCWE+MT. Further investigation by meta-regression revealed that pigs fed MT in category 1 had lower ADG (-78.5 g, p < 0.001) versus CTRL, while YCWE+MT had higher ADG (+48 g, p < 0.001) over MT and was similar to CTRL. The ADFI was not impacted, although YCWE+MT had ADFI values similar to the CTRL. In category 2, ADG and ADFI of pigs fed MT were lower than CTRL (-85.1 and -166 g, respectively, p < 0.0001), with a tendency for YCWE+MT to result in higher ADFI (+25.3 g, p = 0.062). In summary, the inclusion of YCWE provided benefits to performance during common mycotoxin challenge levels (at or below regulatory guidelines).

Plant extracts as biocontrol agents against Aspergillus carbonarius growth and ochratoxin A production in grapes.

Aspergillus carbonarius (Bainier) Thom. is an important pathogen and ochratoxin A (OTA) producer in grapes that can be controlled by adopting sustainable approaches. Here we evaluate the application of natural plant extracts as an alternative to synthetic fungicides to reduce OTA contamination and to prevent infection of grapes by two isolates of A. carbonarius. In a preliminary screening, natural extracts of chestnut flower, cistus, eucalyptus, fennel, and orange peel were evaluated for their antifungal and anti-mycotoxigenic efficiency in a grape-based medium at concentrations of 10 and 20 mg/mL. Cistus and orange peel extracts demonstrated the best antifungal activity at both concentrations. Although the eucalyptus extract demonstrated no significant effect on Aspergillus vegetative growth, it significantly reduced OTA by up to 85.75 % at 10 mg/mL compared to the control. Chestnut flower, cistus, eucalyptus, and orange peel extracts were then tested at the lowest concentration (10 mg/mL) for their antifungal activity in artificially inoculated grape berries. The cistus and orange peel extracts demonstrated the greatest antifungal activity and significantly reduced mold symptoms in grapes. Moreover, all tested natural extracts were able to reduce OTA content in grape berries (17.7 ± 8.3 % - 82.3 ± 3.85 % inhibition), although not always significantly. Eucalyptus extract was particularly efficient, inhibiting OTA production by both strains of A. carbonarius by up to >80 % with no effects on fungal growth. The use of natural eucalyptus extract represents a feasible strategy to reduce OTA formation without disrupting fungal growth, apparently maintaining the natural microbial balance, while cistus and orange peel extracts appear promising as inhibitors of A. carbonarius mycelial growth. Our findings suggest that plant extracts may be useful sources of bioactive chemicals for preventing A. carbonarius contamination and OTA production. Nonetheless, it will be necessary to evaluate their effect on the organoleptic properties of the grapes.

Contamination of herbal medicinal products in low-and-middle-income countries: A systematic review.

The use of herbal medicinal products (HMPs) has grown significantly across low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs). Consequently, the safety of these products due to contamination is a significant public health concern. This systematic review aimed to determine the prevalence, types, and levels of contaminants in HMPs from LMICs. A search was performed in seven online databases, i.e., Africa journal online (AJOL), Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), Health Inter-Network Access to Research Initiative (HINARI), World Health Organization Global Index Medicus (WHO GIM), Scopus, and PubMed using appropriate search queries and reported as per the "Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses" (PRISMA) guidelines. Ninety-one peer-reviewed articles published from 1982 to 2021 from 28 different countries across four continents were included in the study. Although metals, microbial, mycotoxins, pesticides, and residual solvents were the reported contaminants in the 91 articles, metals (56.0%, 51/91), microbial (27.5%, 25/91), and mycotoxins (18.7%, 17/91) were the most predominant. About 16.4% (1236/7518) of the samples had their contaminant levels above the regulatory limits. Samples tested for microbial contaminants had the highest proportion (46.4%, 482/1039) of contaminants exceeding the regulatory limit, followed by mycotoxins (25.8%, 109/423) and metals (14.3%, 591/4128). The proportion of samples that had their average non-essential metal contaminant levels above the regulatory limit was (57.6%, 377/655), 18.3% (88/480), 10.7% (24/225), and 11.3% (29/257) for Pb, Cd, Hg, and As, respectively. The commonest bacteria species found were Escherichia coli (52.3%, 10/19) and Salmonella species (42.1%, 8/19). This review reported that almost 90% of Candida albicans and more than 80% of moulds exceeded the required regulatory limits. HMP consumption poses profound health implications to consumers and patients. Therefore, designing and/or implementing policies that effectively regulate HMPs to minimize the health hazards related to their consumption while improving the quality of life of persons living in LMICs are urgently needed.

GC-ToF-MS Profiling and In Vitro Inhibitory Effects of Selected South African Plants against Important Mycotoxigenic Phytopathogens.

The harmful effects following the ingestion of mycotoxin-contaminated food include the induction of cancers, mutagenicity, immune suppression, and toxicities that target organs of the digestive, cardiovascular, and central nervous systems. Synthetic fungicides are generally associated with a high toxic residue in food and the development of excessive fungal resistance. This study aimed to determine the antifungal activities against mycotoxigenic fungi of selected South African plant leaves and potentially develop plant-derived bio-fungicides, and, furthermore, to explore the in vitro antioxidant activity and the phytochemical spectra of the compounds of the selected medicinal plant extracts. The extracts were tested for antifungal activity against phytopathogenic strains using a microdilution broth assay. Bauhinia galpinii extracts exhibited the lowest minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against C. cladospoides and P. haloterans at 24 h incubation periods. C. caffrum had good antioxidant activity against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) with 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of 0.013 mg/mL while B. galpini had IC50 values of 0.053 against free radicals of 2,2'-azinobis (3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-suphonic acid (ABTS). The antimycotoxigenic and antioxidant activity exerted by both B. galpinii and C. caffrum may well be attributed to high TPC. In the GC-ToF-MS analysis, all the selected medicinal plants exhibited the presence of Hexadecanoic acid at varying % areas, while both B. galpinii and C. caffum exhibited the presence of lupeol at % area 2.99 and 3.96, respectively. The compounds identified, particularly the ones with higher % area, may well explain the biological activity observed. Although the selected medicinal plants exhibited a notable biological activity, there is a need to explore the safety profiles of these plants, both in vitro and in vivo.

A New Perspective on Metabolites and Bioactive Compounds from Fungi.

Fungi play an important role in the solution to important global problems. Making use of processes and goods that are based on fungi can help promote sustainability by making the most efficient use of natural resources. Fungi stand apart from other organisms due to their extraordinary capacity to generate organic compounds. They are necessary for the psychological and physiological well-being of people worldwide. They are excellent producers of vitamins, pigments, hydrolytic enzymes, biofuels, organic acids, polysaccharides, and secondary metabolites such as antibiotics, anticancer treatments, hypocholesterolemic pharmaceuticals, and immunosuppressants. Other secondary metabolites include biofuels. In addition, polysaccharides are produced by them. We provide a condensed explanation of the significance of secondary metabolites in a variety of industries, such as the pharmaceutical industry, the food industry, the textile industry, and the transportation industry. In addition to providing a better understanding of biosynthetic regulation and the possibilities of genetic engineering, improved laboratory processes for the selection of nontoxigenic fungal strains have permitted the manufacture of larger quantities of safe commercial items. The significance of fungi in industrial settings is the topic that will be investigated in this review.

Extracting mycotoxins from edible vegetable oils by using green, ecofriendly deep eutectic solvents.

In this work, we developed an environmentally friendly liquid-liquid microextraction method using a natural deep eutectic solvent in combination with liquid chromatography for the simultaneous determination of four mycotoxins (deoxynivalenol, alternariol, ochratoxin A and zearalenone) in edible vegetable oils. A chemometric approach assessed the effect of the operational parameters on the mycotoxin extraction efficiency. The extracts were analyzed by HPLC coupled with a diode array and fluorescence detector. The optimum NADES composition resulted in the highest extraction recoveries, and it was applied to coextract the target mycotoxins in several types of edible vegetable oils without using hazardous solvents or requiring further clean-up. The limits of detection ranged from 0.07 to 300 µg kg-1, and recoveries were close to 100%, except for zearalenone (viz. 35%), with relative standard deviations below 9% in all cases. The proposed method was validated following the European Commission 2002/657/EC and 2006/401/EC.

Effects of undesired substances and their bioaccumulation on the black soldier fly larvae, Hermetia illucens (Diptera: Stratiomyidae)-a literature review.

Black soldier fly (BSF), Hermetia illucens (L.) (Diptera: Stratiomyidae), is predominantly reared on organic wastes and other unused complementary substrates. However, BSF may have a buildup of undesired substances in their body. The contamination of undesired substance, e.g., heavy metals, mycotoxins, and pesticides, in BSF mainly occurred during the feeding process in the larval stage. Yet, the pattern of accumulated contaminants in the bodies of BSF larvae (BSFL) is varied distinctively depending on the diets as well as the contaminant types and concentrations. Heavy metals, including cadmium, copper, arsenic, and lead, were reported to have accumulated in BSFL. In most cases, the cadmium, arsenic, and lead concentration in BSFL exceeded the recommended standard for heavy metals occurring in feed and food. Following the results concerning the accumulation of the undesired substance in BSFL's body, they did not affect the biological parameters of BSFL, unless the amounts of heavy metals in their diets are highly exceeding their thresholds. Meanwhile, a study on the fate of pesticides and mycotoxins in BSFL indicates that no bioaccumulation was detected for any of the target substances. In addition, dioxins, PCBs, PAHs, and pharmaceuticals did not accumulate in BSFL in the few existing studies. However, future studies are needed to assess the long-term effects of the aforementioned undesired substances on the demographic traits of BSF and to develop appropriate waste management technology. Since the end products of BSFL that are contaminated pose a threat to both human and animal health, their nutrition and production process must be well managed to create end products with a low contamination level to achieve a closed food cycle of BSF as animal feed.

Prevention and Detoxification of Mycotoxins in Human Food and Animal Feed using Bio-resources from South Mediterranean Countries: a Critical Review.

Mycotoxins, which are natural toxic compounds produced by filamentous fungi, are considered major contaminants in the food and feed chain due to their stability during processing. Their impacts in food and feedstuff pollution were accentuated due the climate change in the region. They are characterized by their toxicological effects on human and animal health but also by their harmful economic impact. Mediterranean countries: Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia are characterized by high temperatures and high relative humidity, particularly in littoral regions that provide favorable conditions for fungal growth and toxinogenesis. Many scientific papers have been published recently in these countries showing mycotoxin occurrence in different commodities and an attempt at bio-detoxification using many bio-products. In order to minimize the bioavailability and/or to detoxify mycotoxins into less toxic metabolites (bio-transforming agents), safe and biological methods have been developed including the use of lactic acid bacteria, yeasts, plant extracts and clays minerals from Mediterranean regions. The aim of this review is to present the pollution of mycotoxins in food and feedstuff of humans and animals and to discuss the development of effective biological control for mycotoxin removal/detoxification and prevention using bio-products. This review will also elucidate the new used natural products to be considered as a new candidates for mycotoxins detoxification/prevention on animal feedstuffs.

Analysis of 16 mycotoxins in genuine traditional Chinese medicine for five medicinal parts: Classification of analytical method based on PANI@CS extraction-UPLC-MS/MS.

A novel PANI@CS solid-phase dispersive extractant combined with ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) was developed for the first time, which was used for high-throughput, multi-component, real-time online rapid pretreatment and quantitative classification of 16 mycotoxins from five different medicinal parts of 13 genuine traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs). Ultra performance liquid chromatography combined with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry was used for separation and ESI detection. An internal standard isotope matching calibration was used for quantification purposes to compensate for matrix effects. The limits of detection (LOD) of 16 mycotoxins ranged from 0.1 to 6.0 µg/kg. The linear coefficients (R2) were ≥0.996 in the linear range from 10.0 to 200 µg/L. The recoveries of the 16 mycotoxins ranged from 90.1% to 105.8%, and the relative standard deviations (RSDs) ranged from 1.3% to 4.1%. Thirteen TCMs from five representative medicinal parts were selected and tested under the best sample preparation procedure and chromatographic analysis conditions. The results showed that the method could improve the sensitivity and accuracy of the sample analysis, improve the selectivity and reproducibility of the decolorization and purification of TCMs, which is suitable for the practical application of mycotoxin in trace analysis. This method can also provide a new idea for accurate, efficient, rapid and multi-component online detection of mycotoxins for quality and safety control of TCMs.

[The One Health approach in the context of global commodity chains, crises, and food and feed safety]. / Das One-Health-Konzept im Kontext globaler Warenketten, Krisen und der Sicherheit von Lebens- und Futtermitteln.

The holistic view of food and feed safety, including animal health and environmental conditions, is an important pillar of the One Health approach. The terminology thus clearly goes beyond the prevention of spreading microbiological diseases, in which context it is often understood, and highlights that humans, animals, and the environment as well as their interaction should be considered in a transdisciplinary context.In terms of One Health, this discussion paper focuses less on microbiological risks, but rather on the connection to chemical risks in the food chain. This is illustrated by concrete examples of chemical contaminants (metals, persistent organic contaminants, natural toxins). The mechanisms of input and transfer along the food chain are presented.Minimizing the presence of contaminants and thus exposure requires international and interdisciplinary cooperation in the spirit of the One Health approach. Climate change, pandemics, shortages of raw materials, energy deficiencies, political crises, and environmental disasters can affect the entire food chain from primary production of plant and animal foods to further processing and provision of products to consumers. In addition to changing availability, this can also have an impact on the composition, quality, and safety of food and feed. Based on the effect on global commodity chains, vulnerable and resilient areas along the food chain become visible. In terms of the One Health approach, the aim is to increase safety and resilience along the food chain and to minimize its vulnerability.

Efficient and simultaneous removal of aflatoxin B1, B2, G1, G2, and zearalenone from vegetable oil by use of a metal-organic framework absorbent.

Vegetable oils are usually cocontaminated with different mycotoxins, including aflatoxins and zearalenone, which cause significant food safety issues. Establishment of multitarget, high-efficiency, and low-cost adsorption methods are considered to be ideal solutions for mycotoxin removal in vegetable oils. In this study, we used metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) were used for the simultaneous removal of aflatoxins and zearalenone from vegetable oils. The results showed that MOF-235 simultaneously removed, within 30 min, more than 96.1% of aflatoxins and 83.3% of zearalenone from oils, and oils treated with MOF-235 exhibited di minimis cytotoxicity. Thus, synthesized MOF-235 exhibited sufficient efficacy to remove the targeted residues, as well as safety and reusability, which could be applied as a novel potential adsorbent in the removal of multiple mycotoxins from contaminated vegetable oils.