Main Article Content
Abstract
Contamination of food products with a type of fungal toxin that gradually develops in agricultural commodities represents a hidden yet serious challenge to human and animal health. Because this contamination is asymptomatic in its early stages, it is often overlooked and can cause irreversible harm to society. Given the significant increase in food contamination in recent years, along with the lack of adequate awareness among producers and consumers regarding its dangerous consequences, conducting research in this area has become increasingly essential. This review study was conducted with three main objectives: to identify the sources of toxin production, investigate its prevalence in various food products, and assess its adverse effects on human health. In this research, a systematic search was performed in reputable scientific databases, through which a collection of relevant articles was gathered and the required data were carefully analyzed. The results indicate that this toxic compound is predominantly found in products such as fish, eggs, fruits, vegetables, and members of the nightshade family. This substance disrupts cellular protein synthesis, damages liver tissue, and weakens the body’s immune system. Ultimately, the findings emphasize the urgent need to develop preventive strategies and raise public awareness to mitigate the risks associated with the effects of this contamination on research discoverability.
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References
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- Pushparaj, K., Meyyazhagan, A., Pappuswamy, M., Mousavi Khaneghah, A., Liu, W.‑C., & Balasubramanian, B. (2023). Occurrence, identification, and decontamination of potential mycotoxins in fruits and fruit by‑products. Food Frontiers, 4 (1), 32–46. https://doi.org/10.1002/fft2.198
- Rychlik, M., Lepper, H., Weidner, C., & Asam, S. (2016). Risk evaluation of the Alternaria mycotoxin tenuazonic acid in foods for adults and infants and subsequent risk management. Food Control, 68, 181–185. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2016.03.035 .
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- Schaarschmidt, S., & Fauhl-Hassek, C. (2018). The fate of Alternaria toxins during food processing. Food Control, 92, 36–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2018.04.030 .
- Schatzmayr, G., & Streit, E. (2013). Global occurrence of mycotoxins in the food and feed chain: Facts and figures. World Mycotoxin Journal, 6(3), 213–222 https://doi.org/10.3920/wmj2013.1572 .
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- Wang, Y., Zhang, H., Yan, H., Yin, J., & Zhang, L. (2021). Occurrence and dietary exposure assessment of Alternaria toxins in cereals and cereal-based products. Food Additives & Contaminants: Part A, 38(9), 1520–1533. https://doi.org/10.1080/19440049.2021.1932230. Zhao, K., Shao, B., Yang, D., & Li, F. (2021). Natural occurrence of Alternaria toxins in food and feed in China and their influences on food safety. Food Control, 130, Article 108397. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2021.108397.
- Zwickel, T., Kahl, S. M., Klaffke, H., & Rychlik, M. (2016). A comprehensive approach for the detection of Alternaria toxins in tomato products. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 64(21), 4377–4386. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.6b01235.
References
Aichinger, G., Del Favero, G., Warth, B., & Marko, D. (2021). Alternaria toxins—Still emerging? Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, 20(5), 4390–4406 https://doi.org/10.1111/1541-4337.12803 .
Asam, S., & Rychlik, M. (2013). Potential health hazards due to the occurrence of the mycotoxin tenuazonic acid in infant food. European Food Research and Technology, 236(3), 491–497 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00217-012-1901-x .
Barkai-Golan, R., & Paster, N. (Eds.). (2008). Mycotoxins in fruits and vegetables. Academic Press https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-374126-4.00019-x .
Chen, A., Mao, X., Sun, Q., Wei, Z., Li, J., You, Y., & Zhao, Z. (2019). Alternaria mycotoxins: An overview of toxicity, metabolism, and analysis in food. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 67(19), 5446–5463 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.9b00730.
Chen, S., & Qiang, S. (2017). Recent advances https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pestbp.2017.01.003 .
da Cruz Cabral, L., Terminiello, L. A., Pinto, V. F., Nielsen, K. F., & Patriarca, A. (2016). Natural occurrence of Alternaria mycotoxins in food and feed: A review. World Mycotoxin Journal, 9(5), 767–782 https://doi.org/10.3920/WMJ2016.2052 .
EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM). (2016). Dietary exposure assessment to Alternaria toxins in the European population. EFSA Journal, 14(12), Article e04654 https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2016.4654.
Escrivá, L., Oueslati, S., Font, G., & Manyes, L. (2017). Alternaria mycotoxins in food and feed: An overview. Journal of Food Quality, 2017, Article 1569748 https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/1569748
Fraeyman, S., Croubels, S., Devreese, M., & Antonissen, G. (2017). Emerging Fusarium and Alternaria mycotoxins: Occurrence, toxicity and toxicokinetics. Toxins, 9(7), Article 228 https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins9070228 .
Fraeyman, S., Croubels, S., Devreese, M., & Antonissen, G. (2020). Emerging Fusarium and Alternaria mycotoxins: Occurrence, toxicity and the need for monitoring. Toxins, 12(12), Article 764 https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins12120764
Gruber-Dorninger, C., Jenkins, T., & Schatzmayr, G. (2017). Global mycotoxin occurrence in feed: A ten-year survey. Toxins, 11(7), Article 375 https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins11070375
Hickert, S., Bergmann, M., Ersen, S., Cramer, B., & Humpf, H.-U. (2016). Survey of Alternaria toxin contamination in food from the German market, using a rapid HPLC-MS/MS approach. Mycotoxin Research, 32(1), 7–18. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12550-015-0233-7
Kumar, V., Basu, M. S., & Rajendran, T. P. (2019). Mycotoxin production by Alternaria species isolated from potato in India. Journal of Food Science and Technology, 56(3), 1234–1242. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2007.12.011
Logrieco, A., Moretti, A., & Solfrizzo, M. (2009). Alternaria toxins and plant diseases: An overview of origin, occurrence and risks. World Mycotoxin Journal, 2(2), 129–140. https://doi.org/10.3920/WMJ2009.1145 .
López, P., Venema, D., de Rijk, T., & de Kok, A. (2016). Occurrence of Alternaria toxins in food products in Europe. Food Control, 60, 333–340. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2015.08.008.
Ostry V.(2008) Alternaria mycotoxins: an overview of chemical characterization, producers, toxicity, analysis and occurrence in foodstuffs https://doi.org/10.3920/wmj2008.x013
Ostry, V. (2013). Alternaria toxins: An overview of chemical characterization, producers, toxicity, analysis and occurrence in foodstuffs. World Mycotoxin Journal, 6(2), 135–154. https://doi.org/10.3920/WMJ2013.1621 .
Ostry, V., Malir, F., Toman, J., & Grosse, Y. (2017). Mycotoxins as human carcinogens—the IARC Monographs classification. Mycotoxin Research, 33(1), 65–73. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12550-016-0265-7.
Patricia L., et al. (2016). Occurrence of Alternaria toxins in food products in The Netherlands. Food Additives & Contaminants: Part B, 9 (3), 215–221 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2015.07.032
Puntscher, H., Cobankovic, I., Marko, D., & Warth, B. (2019). Quantitation of free and modified Alternaria mycotoxins in food and feed by LC–MS/MS. Food Chemistry, 276, 98–106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2018.09.121.
Puntscher, H., Kütt, M. L., Skrinjar, P., Mikula, H., Podlech, J., Fröhlich, J., & Warth, B. (2019). Tracking emerging mycotoxins in food: Development of an LC-MS/MS method for free and modified Alternaria toxins. Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 411(22), 5611–5629. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-019-01962-4 .
Pushparaj, K., Meyyazhagan, A., Pappuswamy, M., Mousavi Khaneghah, A., Liu, W.‑C., & Balasubramanian, B. (2023). Occurrence, identification, and decontamination of potential mycotoxins in fruits and fruit by‑products. Food Frontiers, 4 (1), 32–46. https://doi.org/10.1002/fft2.198
Rychlik, M., Lepper, H., Weidner, C., & Asam, S. (2016). Risk evaluation of the Alternaria mycotoxin tenuazonic acid in foods for adults and infants and subsequent risk management. Food Control, 68, 181–185. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2016.03.035 .
Safavizadeh, V., Sher, A., Oliveira, C. A. F. D., Moore, M., Ghasemlou, M., Naderi-Manesh, H., ... & Tahergorabi, R. (2024). The occurrence of tenuazonic acid in food products: A systematic review. Toxin Reviews, 43(4), 453–462. https://doi.org/10.1080/15569543.2024.2392118 .
Safavizadeh, V., Sher, A., Oliveira, C. A. F., Moore, M. D., Ghasemlou, M., Naderi-Manesh, H., Nemati, M., Nokhodchi, A., Rostami, M., & Tahergorabi, R. (2024). The occurrence of tenuazonic acid in food products: A systematic review. Toxin Reviews, 43(4), 453–462. https://doi.org/10.1080/15569543.2024.2392118
Schaarschmidt, S., & Fauhl-Hassek, C. (2018). The fate of Alternaria toxins during food processing. Food Control, 92, 36–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2018.04.030 .
Schatzmayr, G., & Streit, E. (2013). Global occurrence of mycotoxins in the food and feed chain: Facts and figures. World Mycotoxin Journal, 6(3), 213–222 https://doi.org/10.3920/wmj2013.1572 .
Singh, K., & Kumari, A. (2022). Emerging mycotoxins and their clinicopathological effects. In Mycotoxins and mycotoxicoses (pp. 65–104). Springer Nature Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-2370-8_4.
Sotelo-Cerón, N. D., Martínez-Álvarez, J. C., & Maldonado-Mendoza, I. E. (2023). Recent advances in the bioherbicidal potential of tenuazonic acid, an Alternaria spp. mycotoxin. Journal of the Mexican Chemical Society, 67(3), 266–274. https://doi.org/10.29356/jmcs.v67i3.1994.
Wang, Y., Zhang, H., Yan, H., Yin, J., & Zhang, L. (2021). Occurrence and dietary exposure assessment of Alternaria toxins in cereals and cereal-based products. Food Additives & Contaminants: Part A, 38(9), 1520–1533. https://doi.org/10.1080/19440049.2021.1932230. Zhao, K., Shao, B., Yang, D., & Li, F. (2021). Natural occurrence of Alternaria toxins in food and feed in China and their influences on food safety. Food Control, 130, Article 108397. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2021.108397.
Zwickel, T., Kahl, S. M., Klaffke, H., & Rychlik, M. (2016). A comprehensive approach for the detection of Alternaria toxins in tomato products. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 64(21), 4377–4386. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.6b01235.