Mycotoxins molds

Mycotoxins. The condition produced by the consumption of moldy foods containing toxic material is referred to as mycotoxicosis. Molds and fungi fall iato this category and several derive thek toxicity from the production of oxaflc acid, although the majority of mycotoxias are much more complex. 

Benbrook, C M (2005), Breaking the mold - impacts of organic and conventional farming systems on mycotoxins in food and livestock feed , An Organic Center State of Science Review, 58 pp, www.organic-center.org. 

A case in which the toxin or appropriate metabolite is detected in urine, serum, or plasma, or detection of the specific toxin in environmental samples unless there could be a local source of the toxin (e.g., the molds that produce mycotoxins have been found in some residential and industrial settings, and the toxins have been implicated in some cases of "sick building" syndrome). 

Trichothecene mycotoxin Toxin produced by fungal molds it inhibits protein synthesis, impairs DNA synthesis, and interferes with cell membrane structure and function. 

Trichothecene mycotoxins are produced by a number of fungal molds of the Fusarium, Myrotecium, Trichoderma, and Stachybotrys genera. They inhibit protein synthesis, impair DNA synthesis, and interfere with cell membrane structures and functions. The potential routes of exposure are inhalation, ingestion, and skin absorption. A terrorist may take advantage of any of these routes. 

Biology and Ecology of the Various Molds Species that Produce Mycotoxins... 

BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY OF THE VARIOUS MOLD SPECIES THAT PRODUCE MYCOTOXINS... 

A disease known as red mold poisoning affected Japan throughout the 1950s. The mycotoxin deoxynivalenol was later isolated from grains causing the illness and identified as the cause. 

In genotoxic assays, significant increases in frequencies of chromosomal aberrations in peripheral lymphocytes have been reported in uranium miners. This effect has been attributed to radon daughter products and more recently to mutagenic mycotoxins produced by molds present in the uranium mines."... 

Botrytized wines, being produced from mold-affected grapes, might be expected to be contaminated with OTA. Although Botrytis itself has never been reported to produce mycotoxins, associated Penicillium and Aspergillus species might be involved in toxin production. To date, studies on botrytized wine have either not detected or found low OTA levels. 

Aspergillus A common mold that causes food spoilage. Some species can infect damaged corn kernels and produce mycotoxins that can cause cancer. 

Mycotoxins are products of secondary metabolism of various kinds of filamentous fungi (molds) that produce them as a by-product of metabolism or for defensive purposes. Mycotoxins can have strong toxic, mutagenic, or teratogenic properties and are found in a wide range of agricultural products under different environmental conditions. 

M. K. Matossian, Poisons of the Past Molds, Epidemics and History, New Haven, Conn., Yale University Press, 1989 Selected mycotoxins, ochratoxins, trichothecenes, ergot . 

It is difficult to conceive that even poisons can be harnessed as medically-useful drugs, yet this is the case with the ergot alkaloids. These mycotoxins (i.e., toxins produced by molds) were responsible for fatal poisoning of humans and animals (ergotism) throughout the ages after consumption of bread made from grain contaminated with species of... 

The first poison to be isolated from a mold is afla-toxin. This and other poisonous substances produced by molds and other fungi are referred to as mycotoxins. Some mycotoxins are deadly to humans in tiny doses, others will only affect certain animals. Aflatoxin was first isolated in 1960 in Great Britain. It was produced by Aspergillus flavus that had been growing on peanuts. In that year, aflatoxin had been responsible for the death of 100,000 turkeys. In fact, it was the massive financial loss from these deaths that led to the research that discovered aflatoxin. 

Other molds can produce other mycotoxins, which can be just as problematical as aflatoxin. The term mycotoxin can also include substances responsible for the death of bacteria, although these compounds are normally referred to as antibiotics. 

Mycotoxins are toxic substances produced by molds and fiingi, such as mushrooms. These toxic substances, known as secondary metabolites, are by-products of metabolism that are inessential to fungal growth. Although some mycotoxins can be used for medicinal purposes, most are poisonous if eaten in sufficient quantity. 

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