Antifungal Activity of Seaweeds and their Extracts
Leonel Pereira in Therapeutic and Nutritional Uses of Algae, 2018
This fungus is known to produce the toxin ochratoxin A, one of the most abundant food-contaminating mycotoxins, and citrinin. It also produces the dihydroisocoumarin mellein. It is a filamentous fungus in nature and has characteristic biseriate conidiophores. Traditionally a soil fungus, it has now begun to adapt to varied ecological niches, like agricultural commodities, farmed animals, and marine species. In humans and animals, the consumption of this fungus produces chronic neurotoxic, immunosuppressive, genotoxic, carcinogenic, and teratogenic effects. Its airborne spores are one of the potential causes of asthma in children and lung diseases in humans. The pig and chicken populations in the farms are the most affected by this fungus and its mycotoxins (Bennet and Klich 2003).
Penicillium and Talaromyces
Dongyou Liu in Laboratory Models for Foodborne Infections, 2017
Another bioassay with bacteria is based on the motility inhibition of Proteus mirabilis and Azospirillum brasilense caused by some Penicillium toxins.57Escherichia coli is widely used in bioassays for toxicity and for genotoxic or mutagenic activity detection. Auffray and Boutibones60 evaluated the genotoxic activity of some mycotoxins produced by strains of Penicillium using Escherichia coli in the SOS spot test. When comparing the efficiency to detect toxigenic activity between SOS spot test and other tests, including mutagenicity to Salmonella typhimurium (Ames test), Bacillus subtilis (Rec assay), and in vivo carcinogenicity, similar results were obtained for ochratoxin A and rubratoxin B, but different results were observed for patulin, penicillic acid, kojic acid, citrinin, and PR toxin. Tests with microorganisms have also been used to evidence the toxicity of kojic acid,67 but mutagenicity could only be evidenced at high concentrations of the mycotoxin.
Effects of Food Processing, Storage, and Cooking on Nutrients in Plant-Based Foods
Nicole M. Farmer, Andres Victor Ardisson Korat in Cooking for Health and Disease Prevention, 2022
Short-term grain storage: Temporary storage of grains at the farm level has the main aim of keeping the product in bulk for short-term storage before drying it and transferring it to long-term storage in silos. The main control point is to keep the product at below 18% moisture to prevent the growth of molds that may produce toxins such as ochratoxin A. If the moisture content exceeds 18%, the grain may need to be dried or kept at cool temperatures. Long-term storage requires a drying step to bring the moisture content to less than 14.5% to prevent damage and spoilage of the cereal grains.
The occurrence of ochratoxin A in human body fluids – review
Published in Toxin Reviews, 2021
Karolina Ropejko, Magdalena Twarużek
Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a naturally occurring food-borne mycotoxin produced by several fungi, including Aspergillus ochraceus, A. carbonarius, A. niger and Penicillium verrucosum (Korn et al.2011, Bui-Klimke et al.2015). OTA is neurotoxic, nephrotoxic, hepatotoxic, immunosuppressive and teratogenic in animals, though the evidence for these effects in humans is less conclusive (De Groene et al.1996, Petzinger & Ziegler 1999). OTA has been shown to inhibit the synthesis of proteins, DNA and RNA in the isolated cells and to contribute to renal toxicity by inhibiting various enzyme activities in the kidney (Bellver Soto et al.2016). Its presence in human body fluids, i.e. milk, urine, and blood suggest that it can gain systemic access to tissues but the principle target organ appears to be a renal system. It has been demonstrated that people suffering from Balkan endemic nephropathy and urinary tract diseases have higher circulating levels of OTA in their blood than healthy people, though the relationship may not be casual (Özçelik et al.2001, Scott 2005). The presence of OTA in human blood is also associated with a number of urinary tract diseases.
Milk thistle (Silybum Marianum) as an antidote or a protective agent against natural or chemical toxicities: a review
Published in Drug and Chemical Toxicology, 2020
Sahar Fanoudi, Mohaddeseh Sadat Alavi, Gholamreza Karimi, Hossein Hosseinzadeh
Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a natural fungal mycotoxin produced by Aspergillus and Penicillium species. OTA has nephrotoxic (Sauvant et al. 2005), hepatotoxic (Aydin et al. 2003), carcinogenic and immunotoxic effects (O'Brien and Dietrich 2005). OTA immunosuppression effects were mediated by decreasing in antibody responses, reduction in natural killer (NK) cells activity and causing reduction in the bacteriolytic potential of macrophages (Stoev et al. 2000, Alvarez-Erviti et al. 2005). It has been demonstrated that silibinin (12.5 μg/mL) has protective effects against OTA-induced hepatotoxicity (2.5 μmol/L). This effect was mediated by inhibition of TNF-α release from perfused rat livers and isolated rat Kupffer cells and also decreasing the cytotoxicity of OTA (Al-Anati et al. 2009). In another study that evaluated protective effects of silymarin, researchers designed OTA-induced immunotoxic model in white Leghorn cockerels. They showed the immunotoxic effect of OTA (1 mg/kg) could be ameliorated by silymarin supplements (10 g/kg) (Khatoon et al. 2013). Also, OTA-mediated apoptosis and cytotoxicity was inhibited by another milk thistle flavanolignan, silibinin (Essid et al. 2012). This effect may be linked to the increasing in the Bcl-2 protein level and inhibition of caspase-3 activation by silibinin (Pook et al. 2006, Essid and Petzinger 2011).
Moringa oleifera Aqueous Leaf Extract Induces Cell-Cycle Arrest and Apoptosis in Human Liver Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells
Published in Nutrition and Cancer, 2019
Charlette Tiloke, Alisa Phulukdaree, Robert M. Gengan, Anil A. Chuturgoon
The liver is an important organ for detoxification and metabolism (1). Hepatocytes have several enzymes which are responsible for the biotransformation of xenobiotics and drugs (2). However due to the accumulation of toxins and metabolic products, it often leads to hepatic injury. Fortunately, the liver has regenerative properties and hepatocytes are able to proliferate. On the other hand, their proliferative response makes the liver a possibly target to carcinogens leading to cancer. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a worldwide clinical problem (3) due to their proliferative state and evasion of normal homeostatic processes such as apoptosis. The HCC rates of incidence and mortality are rapidly rising (3). The liver malignancy occurs predominantly in developing countries such as South Africa (SA). The increased rate of diagnosis of HCC is associated with hepatitis B and C, ethnicity and socioeconomic status (3,4). In particular, consumption of contaminated staple foods such as mycotoxins (aflatoxin B1 and ochratoxin A) infested maize, alcohol, smoking and iron-overload increases susceptibility to HCC. Existing therapies such as Sorafenib monotherapy, octreotide and combination chemotherapy (5-Fu/LV, hydroxycamptothecine and oxaliplatin) have several side-effects in addition to their relative costs (5). Therefore, complementary and alternative therapies are actively being investigated. Natural products have the potential for chemotherapeutic effects (3); however, their mode of actions is not fully elucidated.
Related Knowledge Centers
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