Mycotoxin decontamination

Park, D.L., Perspectives on mycotoxin decontamination procedures, Food. Addit. Contain., 10, 49, 1993. 

By-product from the manufacture of groundnut oil (Arachis hypogaea L.), obtained by solvent extraction of the seeds and treated with ammonia for mycotoxin decontamination. Crude fibre content is lower than 9% (as fed) (n = 515). 

Shetty, P. H., Jespersen, L. (2006). Saccharomyces cerevisiae and lactic acid bacteria as potential mycotoxin decontaminating agents. Trends in Food Science Technology, 17, 48-55. 

Biodegradation of mycotoxins has become an area of great interest. Biological detoxification involves the enzymatic degradation or transformation of toxins to less toxic componnds and is often a detoxification or resistance mechanism nsed by microbes or plants for protection from adverse impacts of toxins. It has been shown that S. cerevisiae and lactic acid bacteria are potential candidates for mycotoxin decontamination (Halady Shetty Jespersen, 2006). 

Frank M (1999), Mycotoxin prevention and decontamination. HACCP and its mycotoxin control potential an evaluation of ochratoxin A in coffee production , Third Joint FAO/WFIO/UNEP International Conference on Mycotoxins, Tunis, Tunisia, 3-3-0099. 

Charmley, L.L. and Prelusky, D.B., Decontamination of Fusarium mycotoxins, in Miller, J.D. and Tremholm, H.L., eds.. Grain - compounds Other Than Aflatoxin Mycotoxins, Eagan Press, St. Paul, 1994. 

Starodub NF, Pylipeko LN, Pylipenko IV, Egorova AV (2008) Mycotoxins and other low weight toxins as instrument of bioterrorists express instrumental control and some ways to decontaminate polluted environmental objects. Timisoara Medical J 58 9-18... 

Despite data reporting occupational exposure that can occur through the handling and processing of mycotoxins and manipulation in the laboratory, little focus has been placed on those issues, and precautions to be undertaken in the laboratory are rarely mentioned in papers dealing with the analysis of mycotoxins. As far as the latter issue is concerned, safety measures include precautions in handling mycotoxins, and the decontamination and destruction of laboratory wastes. In addition, it is necessary to institute precautions aimed at avoiding the loss of accuracy. 

M Castegnaro, J Barek, JM Fremy, M Lafontaine, M Miraglia, EB Sansone, GM Telling. IARC Laboratory Decontamination and Destruction of Carcinogens in Laboratory Wastes Some Mycotoxins. Scientific Publication N. 113, 1991. 

Chemical detoxification processes or decontamination will include degradation, destmction and/or inactivation of the mycotoxin. In any such process the reduction of the mycotoxin to safe levels should not result in toxic degradation products or reduce the palatability or nutritional properties of the commodities. Aflatoxin has been the subject of most studies and only a relatively small number of these offers any hope of success. There is as yet no FDA or EC fully approved method for aflatoxin detoxification in human foods. Current methods in advanced stages of approval use ammonia in the gaseous form or as an ammonium hydroxide solution at various temperatures, pressure, moisture contents and reaction time to degrade aflatoxins in various animal feedstuffs. There have been extensive studies using two processes, viz ... 

T-2 Mycotoxins No vaccine available Decontamination of clothing and skin ... 

General research needs lie in the areas of detection, decontamination, and treatment. Better and cheaper methods need to be developed for the rapid detection and measurement of mycotoxin levels be it in food or tissues. In regard to bioterrorism, better methods need to be developed for the identification and measurement of mycotoxins in human and animal tissues, body fluids, and feces. Availability of mycotoxin reference samples to provide comparability of analytical results obtained between laboratories within a country as well as in different parts of the world would be helpful. 

Reactive Skin Decontamination Lotion (RSDL) has recently been approved for procurement by the U.S. military (F-Z-EM 2007). RSDL is currently marketed by E-Z-EM, Inc. and is a patented, broad spectrum, skin decontamination lotion that is used to remove or neutralize chemical threat agents and biological warfare agents such as trichothecene mycotoxin (T2 toxin), which can cause severe skin and eye irritation. RSDL was originally developed by the Canadian Defense Research Establishment and consists of 1.25 molar potassium 2,3-butanedione monoximate in poly-etheylene glycol monoethyl ethers with 10% w/v water (Sabourin et al. 2001 Lukey et al. 2004). 

The T-2 mycotoxins have a low molecular mass of 250-500 Da, are nonvolatile compounds produced by filamentous fiingi or molds of the genus Fusarium, and are extremely stable in the environment. Of the multiple mechanisms of actions, many are poorly understood. However, their most notable effect stems from their ability to rapidly inhibit protein and nucleic acid synthesis. Thus, they are markedly cytotoxic to rapidly dividing cells, such as in the bone marrow, G1 tract (mucosal epithelium), skin, and germ cells. This cytotoxic effect imitates the hematopoietic and lymphoid effect of radiation sickness, thus the mycotoxins are referred to as radiomimetic agents. The mycotoxins also alter ceU-membrane strucmre and function, inhibit mitochondrial respiration, and inactivate certain enzymes. Decontamination requires the use of hypochlorite solution under alkaline conditions, such as 1% sodium hypochlorite and 0.1 M NaOH with 1 h contact time (USAMRICD, 2005). 

Decontamination of personnel and equipment after a biological warfare attack is a lesser concern than after a chemical warfare attack because most biological warfare agents are not dermally active (the trichothecene mycotoxins are an exception). Still, decontamination remains an effective way to decrease the spread of infection from potential secondary aerosolization. 

As a general rule, the decontamination procedure recommended for chemical warfare agents4 effectively destroys toxins. Exposure to 0.1% sodium hypochlorite solution (household bleach) for 10 minutes destroys most protein toxins. The tricho-thecene mycotoxins require more stringent measures to inactivate them, but even they can be removed from the skin (although not inactivated) simply by washing with soap and water. Soap and water, or even just water, can be very effective in removing most toxins from skin, clothing, and equipment. 

As soon as individuals or units suspect that they have been exposed to a mycotoxin attack, they should remove their BDUs, wash their contaminated skin with soap and water, and then rinse with water. Washing the contaminated area of the skin within 4 to 6 hours after exposure to T-2 toxin removed 80% to 98% of the toxin and prevented dermal lesions and death in experimental animals.25 Contaminated BDUs as well as wash waste from personnel decontamination should be exposed to household bleach (5% sodium hypochlorite) for 6 hours or more to inactivate any residue mycotoxin. 

Symptomatic measures for the treatment of exposure to trichothecene mycotoxins are modeled after the care of casualties of mustard poisoning.85 Irrigation of the eyes with large volumes of isotonic saline may assist in the mechanical removal of trichothecene mycotoxins, but would have limited useful therapeutic effects. After the skin has been decontaminated, some erythema may appear, accompanied by burning and itching. Most casualties whose skin has been treated with soap and water within 12 hours of exposure will have mild dermal effects these should be relieved by calamine and other lotion or cream, such as 0.25% camphor and methanol. 

No specific therapy for trichothecene mycotoxin poisoning is currently available. Skin decontamination with soap and water or the hypochlorite- (M258A1) or resin-based (M291) military decontamination kits can effectively remove toxin up to six hours after exposure, although none of them neutralize the toxin. Treatment of respiratory, dermal, and GI effects currently must be symptom based and supportive in nature. Superactive activated charcoal, for example, a common treatment for many orally taken poisons, has been shown to bind 0.48 mg T-2/gm charcoal in mice and improve survival rates significantly. 

Anytime you are called to a mass casualty event in which all patients have pulmonary symptoms, you should not enter the scene or approach victims until the HazMat team has made an investigation. This approach may have to be modified if HazMat is not available within minutes. If you must respond to save lives, you should wear Level B or C PPE, and the patients should be decontaminated before being transported. This toxin will not be detected by chemical agent detectors, so you would suspect either a chemical that is not detectable by current detectors or one of the biological toxins (ricin, staphylococcal enterotoxin B, or mycotoxin T2). 

---