Ochratoxin A in Portugal: A Review to Assess Human Exposure

In Portugal, the climate, dietary habits, and food contamination levels present the characteristics for higher population susceptibility to ochratoxin A (OTA), one of the known mycotoxins with the greatest public health and agro-economic importance. In this review, following a brief historical insight on OTA research, a summary of the available data on OTA occurrence in food (cereals, bread, wine, meat) and biological fluids (blood, urine) is made. With this data, an estimation of intake is made to ascertain and update the risk exposure estimation of the Portuguese population, in comparison to previous studies and other populations

Biodegradation of ochratoxin A for food and feed decontamination

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is one of the most important mycotoxins that is found in food and feed products. It has proven toxic properties, being primarily known for its nephrotoxicity and carcinogenicity to certain animal species. OTA is produced by several species of Aspergillus and Penicillium that can be found in a wide variety of agricultural products, which makes the presence of OTA in these products common. Many countries have statutory limits for OTA, and concentrations need to be reduced to as low as technologically possible in food and feed. The most important measures to be taken to control OTA are preventive in order to avoid fungal growth and OTA production. However, these measures are difficult to implement in all cases with the consequence of OTA remaining in agricultural commodities. Remediation processes are often used to eliminate, reduce or avoid the toxic effects of OTA. Biological methods have been considered increasingly as an alternative to physical and chemical treatments. However, examples of practical applications are infrequent. This review will focus on the (i) known microorganisms and enzymes that are able to biodegrade OTA; (ii) mode of action of biodegradation and (iii) current applications. A critical discussion about the technical applicability of these strategies is presented.Luis Abrunhosa was supported by the grant SFRH/BPD/43922/2008 from Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia-FCT, Portugal. Russell Paterson is grateful for the research position in the FCT framework, Commitment to Science ref. C2008-UMINHO-CEB-2

Recherche d’une eventuelle implication des substances psychoactives dans la survenue de crises cardiovasculaires chez des patients admis aux urgences de l’institut de cardiologie d’Abidjan

La présente étude a été réalisée dans le but de rechercher la présence ou non de substances psychoactives dans les urines de 105 patients admis aux urgences de l’Institut de Cardiologie d’Abidjan. En effet, ces substances ont été décrites comme facteurs déclenchants de crises cardiovasculaires. Les principaux résultats ont rapporté que 33,3% des patients ont été testés positifs, la majorité appartenait à la tranche d’âge de 69-84 ans, avec une prédominance masculine et en dehors de toute prescription médicale. Les SPA les plus consommées ont été les benzodiazépines (48,57%) et les antidépresseurs tricycliques (28,57%).Mots clés : Substances psychoactives, crises cardiovasculaires, benzodiazépines

CO-OCCURRENCE OF AFLATOXIN B1, FUMONISIN B1, OCHRATOXIN A AND ZEARALENONE IN CEREALS AND PEANUTS IN COTE D'IVOIRE

International audienceThe present survey examined 30 samples of rice (n=10), maize (n=10) and peanuts (n=10) from Côte d'Ivoire for aflatoxin B1, fumonisin B1 and zearalenone using immuno-assays, and ochratoxinA using a validated HPLC-florimetric method. Similarly to some other countries it appeared that in Côte d'Ivoire several mycotoxins are present in the same commodities. These mycotoxins are from different structural families: aflatoxin B1, fumonisin B1, zearalenone, and ochratoxin A. There are normally produced by fungal species from Aspergillus, Penicilium and Fusarium genera. Some samples contain four mycotoxins (86%). Four peanuts samples do not show ochratoxin A (14%) whereas they contain threatening aflatoxin B1 concentrations, above the EU regulatory limits and exceeding tolerable daily intake. The concentrations of ochratoxin A, zearalenone and fumonisin B1 are low and may not cause problem per se however fears remain for possible excess of tolerable daily intake due to eating habits and synergism with the combination of several mycotoxins. Investigations in this direction are underway together with isolation and characterization of fungal species involved