Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER
8
HIGH-THROUGHPUT ANALYSIS OF MYCOTOXINS
MARTA VACLAVIKOVA, LUKAS VACLAVIK, and TOMAS CAJKA
8.1
INTRODUCTION
Mycotoxins are well-known and abundant toxins that are widely considered to be the
most important natural contaminants found in food and feed. Mycotoxins represent
the low molecular weight organic compounds formed as secondary metabolites of
microscopic, mostly saprophytic,
filamentous fungi species, frequently referred to as
molds. Under favorable environmental conditions, that is, when temperature and
moisture are conducive, these fungi proliferate and may produce mycotoxins.
Mycotoxins represent a group of compounds with diverse chemical structures,
various biosynthetic origins, and a myriad of biological effects. An overview of
selected mycotoxins is provided in Table 8.1. Although the de
nition of mycotoxins
is relatively easy, their classi
cult and challenging task,
especially because of the high number of different fungal species producing these
natural toxins. Among many others, the most prominent fungal producers are
toxicogenic molds of
Aspergillus
,
Penicillium
,
Fusarium
,
Claviceps
, and
Alternaria
fungi genera [1,2].
Because of the ubiquity of molds in the environment, abundance of soil and plant
debris, and their dispersion by wind currents, insects, and rain, both these pathogenic
organisms and their toxic secondary metabolites can be frequently found in foods and
feeds.Mycotoxins are practically unavoidable because the growth of toxicogenic strains
of molds cannot be completely eliminated under real-life conditions. However, it is
important tominimize the conditions under whichmycotoxins are formed, although this
is not always feasible within common agricultural, market, and household practice.
Mycotoxins are notoriously dif
cation represents a more dif
cult to remove and the best method of control is
prevention [3,4].
8.1.1 Legislation and Regulatory Limits
General public awareness of health risks related to mycotoxins is steadily growing.
When present in foods or feeds at suf
ciently high concentrations, toxic fungal
metabolites can induce both acute and chronic adverse health effects in humans and
