A review of mycotoxins in food and feed products in Portugal and estimation of probable daily intakes

Mycotoxins are toxic secondary metabolites produced by filamentous fungi that occur naturally in agricultural commodities worldwide. Aflatoxins, ochratoxin A, patulin, fumonisins, zearalenone, trichothecenes and ergot alkaloids are presently the most important for food and feed safety. These compounds are produced by several species that belong to the Aspergillus, Penicillium, Fusarium and Claviceps genera and can be carcinogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic, cytotoxic, neurotoxic, nephrotoxic, estrogenic and immunosuppressant. Human and animal exposure to mycotoxins is generally assessed by taking into account data on the occurrence of mycotoxins in food and feed as well as data on the consumption patterns of the concerned population. This evaluation is crucial to support measures to reduce consumer exposure to mycotoxins. This work reviews the occurrence and levels of mycotoxins in Portuguese food and feed to provide a global overview of this issue in Portugal. With the information collected, the exposure of the Portuguese population to those mycotoxins is assessed, and the estimated dietary intakes are presented.Lu ıs Abrunhosa, H ector Morales, C elia Soares, and Thalita Calado received support through grants SFRH/BPD/43922/ 2008, SFRH/BPD/38011/2007, SFRH/BD/37264/2007 and SFRH/BD/79364/2011, respectively, from the Fundac¸ ao para ~ a Ciencia e Tecnologia ^ –FCT, Portugal

Inhibicija rasta plijesni Aspergillus ochraceus ZMPBF 318 i Penicillum expansum ZMPBF 565 djelovanjem četiriju eteričnih ulja

Fungi produce a large variety of extracellular proteins, organic acids, and other metabolites and can adapt to several environmental conditions. Mycotoxin-producing moulds of the genera Aspergillus and Penicillium are common food contaminants. One of the natural ways to protect food from mould contamination is to use essential oils. In this study, we evaluated the effect of essential oils of cinnamon, lavender, rosemary, and sage at 1 % (v/v) concentration in yeast media inoculated with spores (fi nal concentration 106 mL-1 media) of Aspergillus ochraceus ZMPBF 318 and Penicillium expansum ZMPBF 565, alone or in combination, on fungal biomass. Cinnamon showed the best inhibitory effect (100 %). Lavender oil best inhibited the growth of Aspergillus ochraceus (nearly 100 %), and was less successful with Penicillium expansum (having dropped to 57 % on day 28). With cultivation time the inhibitory effect of sage and rosemary oil grew for Aspergillus ochraceus and dropped for Penicillium expansum. These results suggest that fungi can be controlled with essential oils, especially with cinnamon oil.Plijesni su poznate po svojoj visokoj sposobnosti proizvodnje različitih izvanstaničnih proteina, organskih kiselina i drugih metabolita i po svojoj mogućnosti prilagodbe na nepovoljne okolišne uvjete, a primjenjuju se i u obradi otpadnih voda. Plijesni iz rodova Aspergillus i Penicillium česti su kontaminanti u hrani i posebno opasne jer tvore toksične metabolite mikotoksine. Eterična ulja mogu se primijeniti kao prirodna sredstva za zaštitu hrane od kontaminacije plijesnima. U radu su prikazani rezultati istraživanja utjecaja eteričnih ulja cimeta, lavande, ružmarina i kadulje na kontrolu rasta biomase plijesni Aspergillus ochraceus ZMPBF 318 i Penicillium expansum ZMPBF 565, u obliku čistih i miješanih kultura. Ulja su dodavana u koncentraciji od 1 % (v/v), a podloga (kvaščev ekstrakt) bila je nacijepljena suspenzijama spora plijesni (106 mL-1 podloge). Eterično ulje cimeta pokazalo je najveći inhibitorni učinak (100 %). Inhibitorni učinak eteričnog ulja lavande bio je veći na rast Aspergillusa ochraceusa (skoro 100 %) nego Penicilliuma expansuma (57 %). Eterična ulja kadulje i ružmarina pokazala su suprotne učinke. Inhibitorni učinak na Aspergillus ochraceus tijekom perioda uzgoja je rastao, a na Penicillium expansum opadao. Rezultati pokazuju da se rast plijesni može kontrolirati primjenom eteričnih ulja, a posebno uljem cimeta. Također upućuju na ekonomsku vrijednost takvih tretmana

Incidence of post-harvest disease and airborne fungal spores in a vegetable market

The sampling of bioaerosols has been carried out using a Rotorod sampler as well as by exposing culture plates. The screening of some common vegetables was also done for the isolation of fungi as market pathogens to study post-harvest diseases. Altogether, fifty nine fungal spore types and 78 species of 33 genera belonging to different groups were recorded respectively on the rotorod strips and on exposed Petri dishes. Many saprophytic and pathogenic fungi were found to be associated with sampled vegetables from the market. In all forty-six fungal species belonging to 26 genera were recovered from five varieties of vegetables collected from the same market. The most dominant forms of fungi were of Aspergillus followed by Cladosporium, Penicillium, Alternaria, Fusarium, Curvularia, Trichoderma, and Rhizopus. Aspergillus niger, A. flavus, A. fumigatus, Penicillium spp. and Cladosporium herbarum, found to be dominant during the period of investigation. Important mycotoxin-producing fungi such as A. flavus, A. fumigatus and Fusarium moniliforme were isolated from the vegetables collected from the market

Potential for Development of Tolerance by \u3ci\u3ePenicillium digitatum\u3c/i\u3e and \u3ci\u3ePenicillium italicum\u3c/i\u3e after Repeated Exposure to Potassium Sorbate

Two strains of Penicillium digitatum and one strain of Penicillium italicum were exposed to various levels of sorbic acid and potassium sorbate, and the MICs were determined. Selected strains of the molds were then repeatedly exposed to subinhibitory levels of the compounds to determine whether increased tolerance might develop. The MIC of sorbic acid (pH 4.75) to P. digitatum was between 0.02 and 0.025%. The MIC of sorbate (pH 5.5) to two strains of P. digitatum and P. italicum was found to be between 0.06 and 0.08%. Increasing levels of sorbate resulted in increasing growth suppression of the molds. Populations of P. digitatum were tested for increased tolerance to sorbic acid, and none was found. Individual molds that started from the same parent colony were examined for increased tolerance to potassium sorbate. Two P. digitatum strains developed no observable increased tolerance, but P. italicum developed a slight increase in tolerance to sorbate. When spores of P. italicum and P. digitatum were exposed to higher levels of sorbate for prolonged times, the fungicidal or fungistatic activity of the inhibitor was dependent upon pH, length of exposure time, level of sorbate, and the mold strain