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Selected Papers from the 3rd African Society of Mycotoxicology Joint...
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Selected Papers from the 3rd African Society of Mycotoxicology Joint MYTOX-SOUTH Conference

A special issue of Toxins (ISSN 2072-6651). This special issue belongs to the section "Mycotoxins".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (7 December 2022) | Viewed by 7656

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Sheila Okoth

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biology, University of Nairobi, P.O. Box 30197, Nairobi 00100, Kenya
Interests: fungi, their metabolites and management strategies in food and feed
Prof. Dr. Sarah De Saeger

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Department of Bioanalysis, Centre of Excellence in Mycotoxicology and Public Health, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
2. Faculty of Science, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
Interests: mycotoxins
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Mycotoxins are among the major food contaminants, especially in Africa and in many developing countries. Contamination by mycotoxins has greater consequences in terms of both human and animal health as well as economics of these countries. This phenomenon negatively impacts Africa’s food availability and food security scenarios. This Special Issue will publish peer-reviewed manuscripts presented at the 3rd ASM joint Mytox South Conference which will be held from 4 to 7 September 2022 in Stellenbosch, South Africa. The Special Issue aims to identify the current status of mycotoxins in foods in Africa, safety of foods, consumer health and Africa’s food security, advances in testing, regulations, and current and future management technologies, including predictive modeling, health, and trade implications.

The Special Issue will cover the conference topics:

  • Intra- and intercontinental partnerships toward mitigating mycotoxins in African food and feed value chains;
  • Surveillance, mitigation, and prediction of mycotoxin prevalence;
  • Health impact of multi-mycotoxins and modified/hidden mycotoxins;
  • Management of mycotoxigenic fungi and mycotoxins;
  • Food and feed processing and technologies to reduce mycotoxin contamination;
  • New technologies to ensure food security and food safety;
  • Current and future challenges to ensure food safety.

Prof. Dr. Sheila Okoth
Prof. Dr. Sarah De Saeger
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Toxins is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • mycotoxins
  • predictive modeling
  • mitigation
  • testing
  • health
  • multimycotoxins
  • modified mycotoxins
  • feed
  • processing

Published Papers (4 papers)

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15 pages, 338 KiB  
Article
Mycotoxins Exposure of Lactating Women and Its Relationship with Dietary and Pre/Post-Harvest Practices in Rural Ethiopia
by Addisalem Mesfin, Carl Lachat, Seifu Hagos Gebreyesus, Meselech Roro, Kokeb Tesfamariam, Tefera Belachew, Marthe De Boevre and Sarah De Saeger
Toxins 2023, 15(4), 285; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins15040285 - 16 Apr 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1560
Abstract
Mycotoxins can be transferred to breast milk during lactation. Hence, the presence of multiple mycotoxins (aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, G2, and M1, alpha and beta zearalanol, deoxynivalenol, fumonisins B1, B2, B3, and hydrolyzed B1, nivalenol, ochratoxin A, ochratoxin alpha, and zearalenone) in breast [...] Read more.
Mycotoxins can be transferred to breast milk during lactation. Hence, the presence of multiple mycotoxins (aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, G2, and M1, alpha and beta zearalanol, deoxynivalenol, fumonisins B1, B2, B3, and hydrolyzed B1, nivalenol, ochratoxin A, ochratoxin alpha, and zearalenone) in breast milk samples was assessed in our study. Furthermore, the relationship between total fumonisins and pre/post-harvest and the women’s dietary practices was examined. Liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry was used to analyze the 16 mycotoxins. An adjusted censored regression model was fitted to identify predictors of mycotoxins, i.e., total fumonisins. We detected only fumonisin B2 (15% of the samples) and fumonisin B3 (9% of the samples) while fumonisin B1 and nivalenol were detected only in a single breast milk sample. No association between total fumonisins and pre/post-harvest and dietary practices was found (p < 0.05). The overall exposure to mycotoxins was low in the studied women, although fumonisins contamination was not negligible. Moreover, the recorded total fumonisins was not associated with any of the pre/post-harvest and dietary practices. Therefore, to better identify predictors of fumonisin contamination in breast milk, longitudinal studies with food samples in addition to breast milk samples and with larger sample sizes are needed for the future. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from the 3rd African Society of Mycotoxicology Joint MYTOX-SOUTH Conference)
15 pages, 463 KiB  
Article
Detoxification of Aflatoxins in Fermented Cereal Gruel (Ogi) by Probiotic Lactic Acid Bacteria and Yeasts with Differences in Amino Acid Profiles
by Kolawole Banwo, Taiwo Adesina, Olubunmi Aribisala and Titilayo D. O. Falade
Toxins 2023, 15(3), 210; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins15030210 - 10 Mar 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1781
Abstract
Toxigenic members of Aspergillus flavus contaminate cereal grains, resulting in contamination by aflatoxin, a food safety hazard that causes hepatocellular carcinoma. This study identified probiotic strains as aflatoxin detoxifiers and investigated the changes to the grain amino acid concentrations during fermentation with probiotics in [...] Read more.
Toxigenic members of Aspergillus flavus contaminate cereal grains, resulting in contamination by aflatoxin, a food safety hazard that causes hepatocellular carcinoma. This study identified probiotic strains as aflatoxin detoxifiers and investigated the changes to the grain amino acid concentrations during fermentation with probiotics in the presence of either A. flavus La 3228 (an aflatoxigenic strain) or A. flavus La 3279 (an atoxigenic strain). Generally, higher concentrations (p < 0.05) of amino acids were detected in the presence of toxigenic A. flavus La 3228 compared to the atoxigenic A. flavus La 3279. Compared to the control, 13/17 amino acids had elevated (p < 0.05) concentrations in the presence of the toxigenic A. flavus compared to the control, whereas in systems with the atoxigenic A. flavus 13/17 amino acids had similar (p > 0.05) concentrations to the control. There were interspecies and intraspecies differences in specific amino acid elevations or reductions among selected LAB and yeasts, respectively. Aflatoxins B1 and B2 were detoxified by Limosilactobacillus fermentum W310 (86% and 75%, respectively), Lactiplantibacillus plantarum M26 (62% and 63%, respectively), Candida tropicalis MY115 (60% and 77%, respectively), and Candida tropicalis YY25, (60% and 31%, respectively). Probiotics were useful detoxifiers; however, the extent of decontamination was species- and strain-dependent. Higher deviations in amino acid concentrations in the presence of toxigenic La 3228 compared to atoxigenic La 3279 suggests that the detoxifiers did not act by decreasing the metabolic activity of the toxigenic strain. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from the 3rd African Society of Mycotoxicology Joint MYTOX-SOUTH Conference)
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14 pages, 615 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of Agronomic Characteristics, Disease Incidence, Yield Performance, and Aflatoxin Accumulation among Six Peanut Varieties (Arachis hypogea L.) Grown in Kenya
by Loise Njoki, Sheila Okoth, Peter Wachira, Abigael Ouko, James Mwololo, Margherita Rizzu, Safa Oufensou and Truphosa Amakhobe
Toxins 2023, 15(2), 111; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins15020111 - 28 Jan 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2092
Abstract
Diseases contribute to attainment of less than 50% of the local groundnut potential yield in Kenya. This study aimed to evaluate the agronomic characteristics (flowering and germination), disease incidence, yield performance (biomass, harvest index, 100-pod, 100-seed, and total pod weight), and aflatoxin accumulation [...] Read more.
Diseases contribute to attainment of less than 50% of the local groundnut potential yield in Kenya. This study aimed to evaluate the agronomic characteristics (flowering and germination), disease incidence, yield performance (biomass, harvest index, 100-pod, 100-seed, and total pod weight), and aflatoxin accumulation in six peanut varieties. A field experiment was conducted using four newly improved peanut varieties: CG9, CG7, CG12, and ICGV-SM 90704 (Nsinjiro), and two locally used varieties: Homabay local (control) and 12991, and in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The disease identification followed the International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) rating scale and further isolation of fungal contaminants was conducted by a direct plating technique using potato dextrose agar. The aflatoxin levels in the peanuts were determined after harvesting using the ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography and fluorescence detection (UHPLC-FLD) technique. ICGV-SM 90704 showed the least average disease incidence of 1.31 ± 1.75%, (P < 0.05); the lowest total aflatoxin levels (1.82 ± 1.41 μg kg−1) with a range 0.00–0.85 μg kg−1 for total aflatoxins and a range 0.00–1.24 μg kg−1 for Aflatoxin B1. The locally used varieties (12991 and the control) revealed the highest disease incidence (5.41 ± 8.31% and 7.41 ± 1.88%), respectively. ICGV-SM 90704 was the best performing among all the six varieties with an average total pod weight (9.22 ± 1.19 kg), 100-pod weight (262.93 ± 10.8 g), and biomass of (27.21 ± 5.05 kg) per row. The 12991 variety and the control showed the least total pod weight (1.60 ± 0.28 and 1.50 ± 1.11 kg, respectively) (P = 0.0001). The newly improved varieties showed lower disease rates, low levels of aflatoxins, and higher yields than the locally used varieties. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from the 3rd African Society of Mycotoxicology Joint MYTOX-SOUTH Conference)
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9 pages, 247 KiB  
Conference Report
Abstracts of Presentations to the Working Session on Improving Predictive Modeling of Mycotoxin Risk for Africa Held at the 3rd ASM2022 on 7 September 2022, in Stellenbosch, South Africa
by Felix Rembold, Brighton Mvumi, David Miller, Rose Omari, Paola Battilani, Yamdeu Joseph Hubert Galani, Wiana Louw, Titilayo D. O. Falade, Wolfgang Schweiger and Monica Ermolli
Toxins 2023, 15(3), 174; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins15030174 - 24 Feb 2023
Viewed by 1426
Abstract
In 2008, the African Postharvest Losses Information Systems project (APHLIS, accessed on 6 September 2022) developed an algorithm for estimating the scale of cereal postharvest losses (PHLs). The relevant scientific literature and contextual information was used to build profiles of the PHLs occurring [...] Read more.
In 2008, the African Postharvest Losses Information Systems project (APHLIS, accessed on 6 September 2022) developed an algorithm for estimating the scale of cereal postharvest losses (PHLs). The relevant scientific literature and contextual information was used to build profiles of the PHLs occurring along the value chains of nine cereal crops by country and province for 37 sub-Saharan African countries. The APHLIS provides estimates of PHL figures where direct measurements are not available. A pilot project was subsequently initiated to explore the possibility of supplementing these loss estimates with information on the aflatoxin risk. Using satellite data on drought and rainfall, a time series of agro-climatic aflatoxin risk warning maps for maize was developed covering the countries and provinces of sub-Saharan Africa. The agro-climatic risk warning maps for specific countries were shared with mycotoxin experts from those countries for review and comparison with their aflatoxin incidence datasets. The present Work Session was a unique opportunity for African food safety mycotoxins experts, as well as other international experts, to meet and deepen the discussion about prospects for using their experience and their data to validate and improve agro-climatic risk modeling approaches. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from the 3rd African Society of Mycotoxicology Joint MYTOX-SOUTH Conference)
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