Abstract
Aflatoxins are food contaminants usually associated with hepatitis, immunodepression, impairment of fertility and cancer. The present work was to determine the presence of aflatoxins in eggs, milk, urine, and blood samples that were collected from various sources and periods; and hepatitis B virus antigen in blood samples. Aflatoxin was found in eggs (45.2%), cow raw milk (15.9%), breast milk (4.8%), urine from kwashiorkor and marasmic kwashiorkor children (45.5%), and sera from primary liver cancer patients (63.9%); HbsAg was also detected in 69.4% of the serum samples, but there was no association between both factors. Both AF and hepatitis B virus seem to be risk factors that could increase the incidence and prevalence rates of malnutrition and cancer in Cameroon.
Highlights
Aflatoxins (AFs) are secondary metabolites of the fungi Apergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus
Contamination in egg samples according to various climatic regions of Cameroon varied from 25 to 52.5% with the Forest and Littoral regions having the highest levels (Table 1); toxins found were AFB1, AFB2a, AFB2, AFG1 and AFM1
Aflatoxin contamination in various foods is a major threat to the health of exposed people
Summary
Aflatoxins (AFs) are secondary metabolites of the fungi Apergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus. These moulds are common contaminants of foodstuff, in the tropical regions [1]. Many studies have linked aflatoxin contamination of food with some toxic effects such as liver cancer and immunosupression in various animals and humans [2,3]. Aflatoxin B1, the most potent one, is metabolized into a variety of hydroxylated derivatives (aflatoxin P1, M1, B2a, aflotoxicol). Res. Public Health 2010, 7 which are less toxic than the parent compound [4], their presence in food is still a threat to human health [5]. Aflatoxin B1 has been detected in human foodstuffs in some African countries [6]
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