Research Publications (Food Safety)

Monascus sp. is an important food microbial resource with the production of cholesterol-lowering agent lovastatin and other healthy metabolites. However, the mycotoxin citrinin naturally produced by Monascus sp. and the insufficient productivity of lovastatin limit its large-scale use in food industry.

Abstract Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a mycotoxin that causes renal carcinogenicity following the induction of karyomegaly in proximal tubular cells after repeated administration to rats. Here, we performed gene profiling regarding altered DNA methylation and gene expression in the renal tubules focusing on the mechanism of OTA‐induced carcinogenesis.

Rice is a widely consumed food worldwide; however, it can be a source of pollutants, such as potentially toxic elements (PTEs), mycotoxins, and pesticides.

Hazardous chemicals are commonly found in cereals and cereal-based products. However, most studies focus on the individual effects of these mycotoxins or metals, rather than their combined toxicity.

Among 200 fungal strains isolated from the soil, only one culture filtrate of Aspergillus flavus JCK-4087 showed strong nematicidal activity against Meloidogyne incognita. The nematicidal metabolite isolated from the culture filtrate of JCK-4087 was identified as cyclopiazonic acid (CPA). Because JCK-4087 also produced aflatoxins, six strains of Penicillium commune, which have been reported to be CPA producers, were obtained from the bank and then tested for their CPA productivity.

Food can be contaminated by various types of contaminants such as mycotoxins and toxic heavy metals. Therefore, it is very likely that simultaneous intake of more than one type of food contaminant by consumers may take place, which provides a strong rationale for investigating the combined toxicities of these food contaminants. Patulin is one of the most common food-borne mycotoxins, whereas cadmium is a representative of toxic heavy metals found in food.

Yellow corn kernels were subjected to gamma (γ) irradiation (1.0–10.0 kGy), post packaging in polypropylene/polyethylene terephthalate/aluminium foil trilamellate. These packaged‐irradiated corn grits were stored under ambient conditions (23 ± 2°C, 80% R.H.) and their shelf lives were ascertained chiefly w.r.t. lutein and aflatoxin contents.

Background Nutritional and environmental benefits of mycoprotein verify its health beneficial role on humankind in next decades. Agro‐industrial wastes can be used as cheap substrates to decrease total cost of product. However, fungi may produce toxins or lead to allergic reactions in consumer. So, the study of the safety and nutritional aspects of this product are very imperative. Results Fusarium (F) venenatum IR372C was cultured on date wastes and ammonium salts in submerge fermentation.

Author(s): Saeed Akhtar, Muhammad Riaz, Iqra Naeem, Yun Yun Gong, Amir Ismail, Majid Hussain, Kashif Akram

Author(s): Xianli Yang, Zhiyong Zhao, Yanglan Tan, Bo Chen, Changyan Zhou, Aibo Wu

Publication date: Available online 17 June 2019

Food and Chemical Toxicology

Author(s): Qin Zhao, Zhao-Si Yang, San-Jie Cao, Yung-Fu Chang, Yu-Qin Cao, Jia-Bing Li, Zi-Xuan Yao, Yi-Ping Wen, Xiao-Bo Huang, Rui Wu, Qi-Gui Yan, Yong Huang, Xiao-Ping Ma, Xin-Feng Han, Yinglong Wu

Available online 11 January 2019

Author(s): Min Wei, Chunlei Wang, Ensheng Xu, Jin Chen, Xiaolin Xu, Wei Wei, Songqin Liu

Mansooreh Mazaheri, Ali Akbar Moosavi-Movahedi, Ali Akbar Saboury, Fariba Khodagholi, Fatemeh Shaerzadeh, Nader Sheibani