Trichothecenes risk assessment

Mycotoxins, selected ochratoxins, trichothecenes, ergot (No. 105,1990) Nephrotoxicity associated with exposure to chemicals, principles and methods for the assessment of (No. 119,1991) Neurotoxicity associated with exposure to chemicals, principles and methods for the assessment of (No. 60,1986) Neurotoxicity risk assessment for human health, principles and approaches (No. 223,2001)... 

Analytical methodology was developed for accurate quantitative analysis of trichothecenes at low part-per-billion levels in blood. Although this methodology was arduous and lacked the ruggedness normally demanded of an analytical procedure which must nave a low failure rates it proved to be both qualitatively reliable and quantitatively accurate when it was combined with a well planned quality assurance program. An indispensable part of developing the quality assurance plan was a formal risk assessment which specifically took into account the possibility of human error. 

Nivalenol (NIV) belongs to the B-type trichothecene mycotoxins produced by Fusarium species. The occurrence of NIV contamination is limited to certain areas around the world, such as Japan, Korea, New Zealand, and a part of Europe, where it has had adverse effects on human and animal health. This chapter focuses on the mycology, occurrence, biosynthesis, toxicology, methods of analysis, and risk assessment of NIV. 

Because NIV is a minor mycotoxin in the world, information for risk assessment is very poor. Of course, European countries and Japan have recognized the threat posed by NIV to human health and have started to evaluate this risk. In the risk assessment of NIV, it is recommended to take into account the effect of co-contamination with other trichothecene mycotoxins, namely, DON. As further studies, combination toxicology studies of NIV and DON are needed. 

Other immunotoxicants. The list of potentially immunotoxic substances is large (see reviews cited above), and includes diverse compounds—heavy metals such as lead (Blakley and Archer, 1981) and fungal alkaloids such as trichothecene alkaloids (Nasuda et al., 1982). The obvious questions raised are defining the range of compounds in our diet which are immunotoxic and the quantitation of the health risk associated with toxicant consumption. The lack of correlation between some in vivo and in vitro studies (e.g., Blakley and Archer, 1982) indicate that risk will be difficult to assess. 

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