Abstract
Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by several species of fungi, including the Fusarium, Aspergillus, and Penicillium species. Currently, more than 300 structurally diverse mycotoxins are known, including a group called minor mycotoxins, namely enniatins, beauvericin, and fusaproliferin. Beauvericin and enniatins possess a variety of biological activities. Their antimicrobial, antibiotic, or ionoforic activities have been proven and according to various bioassays, they are believed to be toxic. They are mainly found in cereal grains and their products, but they have also been detected in forage feedstuff. Mycotoxins in feedstuffs of livestock animals are of dual concern. First one relates to the safety of animal-derived food. Based on the available data, the carry-over of minor mycotoxins from feed to edible animal tissues is possible. The second concern relates to detrimental effects of mycotoxins on animal health and performance. This review aims to summarize current knowledge on the relation of minor mycotoxins to livestock animals.
Highlights
Mycotoxins are a structurally diverse group of mostly low-molecular-weight compounds
The antibiotic effects of BEA were tested on the following bacterial species including those from GI tract: Bacillus cereus, Bacillus mycoides, Bacillus pumilis, Bacillus sphaericus, Bifidobacterium adolescentis Clostridium perfringens, Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecium, Eubacterium biforme, Listeria monocytogenes, Paenibacillus alvei, Paenibacillus azotofixans, Paenibacillus macerans, Paenibacillus macquariensis, Paenibacillus pabuli, Paenibacillus productus, Paenibacillus pulvifaciens, Paenibacillus Validus, Peptostreptococcus anaerobius, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella enterica, Shigella dysenteriae, Yersinia enterocolitica, and two strains of Staphylococcus aureus, using microbial bioassay techniques [24,25,26]
Fusarium fungi produce some of the most important classes of mycotoxins, but they are responsible for the production of the so-called minor or emerging mycotoxins, enniatins (ENs), and beauvericin (BEA), which possess a wide range of biological activities
Summary
Mycotoxins are a structurally diverse group of mostly low-molecular-weight compounds. Fusarium and Alternaria usually produce mycotoxins before harvest or in freshly harvested products, whereas Aspergillus and Penicillium species represent a higher risk during drying and storage of food and feed products [1,3]. Fusarium genus includes over 90 described species and is responsible for the production of some of the most important classes of mycotoxins: trichothecenes, fumonisins, and zearalenones. This genus produces less studied mycotoxins called minor or emerging mycotoxins: fusaproliferin, beauvericin (BEA), enniatins (ENs), and moniliformin. The exposure of humans to mycotoxins occurs either directly through the consumption of contaminated plant foods (e.g., cereals) or indirectly through the intake of animal-derived products (e.g., milk and eggs) that origin from animals fed with contaminated diets [6]. Fusarium species are responsible for the production of minor mycotoxins, namely, enniatins and beauvericin, which are currently in the center of interest because of the wide range of their biological activities, as described in details bellow
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