Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
complex sequence of exceedingly huge databases have offered many new
tools in the fi eld of mycology.
IMPORTANT PATHOGENIC AND TOXIGENIC FUNGAL SPECIES
The major pathogenic and toxigenic fungi are
Aspergillus
sp. (Reddy et al.
2004),
Fusarium
sp. (Abbas et al. 1999) and
Penicillium
sp. (Makun et al. 2007).
The harmful effects of such fungal invasion are glume or grain discoloration,
loss in viability and quality and toxin contamination. Afl atoxins (Liu et al.
2006), fumonisins (Abbas et al. 1999), trichothecenes (Llewellyn et al. 1988),
ochratoxin A (Makun et al. 2007), cyclopiazonic acid (Trung et al. 2001),
patulin (Rao et al. 2005), zearalenone, deoxynivalenol (DON) (Megalla et
al. 2007), citrinin (Abd-Allah and Ezzat, 2005), gliotoxin (Richard et al. 1989)
and sterigmatocystin (Sugimoto et al. 1977) are the important mycotoxins
reported worldwide (table-1). Among these mycotoxins, afl atoxin B1
(AFB1), fumonisin B1 and ochratoxin A (OTA) are the most toxic for
mammals and have hepatotoxic, teratogenic and mutagenic activity, causing
damage, such as toxic hepatitis, hemorrhage, edema, immunosuppression,
hepatic carcinoma, equine leukoencephalomalacia, esophageal cancer and
nephrotoxicity (Norred 1993, Santos et al. 2001). AFB1 has been classifi ed
as a group 1 human carcinogen and Fumonisin B1 and B2 as group 2B
carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC
1993). Several mycotoxicoses in humans and animals have been reported
due to the consumption of mycotoxin-contaminated food and feed (Reddy
and Raghavender 2007).
Table 1.
List of important mycotoxins, producing fungi and principal toxic effects.
S.
No
Fungi
Food
Commodity
Toxin
Plant Disease
Human
disease
1
Fusarium
spp.
Cereals,
vegetables,
poultry feed
etc.
Deoxynivalenol
Nivalenol
T2-toxin
Fumonisins
Zeralenone
seed rot,
seedling blight,
root rot, stalk
rot, ear rot,
kernel rot, head
blight, cankers,
wilts and leaf
diseases etc.
Elementary
system,
Keratomycosis,
neutropenia,
Liver, Kidney
2
Aspergillus
and
Penicillium
Cereals, Coffee,
Tree- nuts,
Spices, Fish,
Meats, Eggs,
Dairy products
Vegetables,
Fruits, Dairy
products etc.
Afl atoxins
Ochrotoxin
citrinin
Cyclopiazonic
acid
Grain mould/
seedling blight/
Black mold etc.
Liver cancer
Cardiac
beriberiLung
infections
