Aflatoxin Lab Report

Figure 1: Chemical structure of Aflatoxin (B1, B2, M1, M2, G1 and G2)

Ochratoxins
They occur in nature as Ochratoxin A, B, and C. Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a mycotoxin produced by several fungi (Penicillium, Fusarium and Aspergillus species), and occurs naturally in a variety of plant products such as cereals, coffee, beans, pulses and dried fruit all over the world (Duarte et al., 2010). It has been detected also in products such as wine, beer and grape juice (Sage et al., 2002). It occurs in kidney, liver and blood from farm animals by transfer from animal feed (Zain, 2011). Ochratoxin B (OTB) is the non-chlorinated analogue of ochratoxin A, being produced in a 1:5 ratio (Harris and Mantle, 2001), by the same strands of Aspergillus and Penicillium

They do this by reacting with components of the ribosomes: the structure within the cell where proteins are made. The specific site of action of T-2 toxin, which is a reaction with a critical site on the ribosomal RNA (rRNA), is known. Compared with some of the other mycotoxins such as aflatoxin, the trichothecenes do not appear to require metabolic activation to exert their biological activity. After direct dermal application or oral ingestion, the trichothecene mycotoxins can cause rapid irritation to the skin or intestinal mucosa. In cell-free systems or single cells in culture, these mycotoxins cause a rapid inhibition of protein synthesis and polyribosomal disaggregation. Thus, the trichothecene mycotoxins have molecular capability of direct reaction with cellular

culmorum. Studies have shown that DON can withstand a very high temperature within the interval of 170C to 350C, however, DON levels may be reduced especially in boiling, for example, it was discovered that DON levels are reduced in cooked pasta and noodles because of leaching into the cooking water (Manthey et al.,