Abstract
This manuscript reviews the state-of-the-art regarding human biological monitoring (HBM) of mycotoxins in plasma, serum and blood samples. After a comprehensive and systematic literature review, with a focus on the last five years, several aspects were analyzed and summarized: (a) the biomarkers analyzed and their encountered levels, (b) the analytical methodologies developed and (c) the relationship between biomarker levels and some illnesses. In the literature reviewed, aflatoxin B1-lysine (AFB1-lys) and ochratoxin A (OTA) in plasma and serum were the most widely studied mycotoxin biomarkers for HBM. Regarding analytical methodologies, a clear increase in the development of methods for the simultaneous determination of multiple mycotoxins has been observed. For this purpose, the use of liquid chromatography (LC) methodologies, especially when coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) or high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) has grown. A high percentage of the samples analyzed for OTA or aflatoxin B1 (mostly as AFB1-lys) in the reviewed papers were positive, demonstrating human exposure to mycotoxins. This review confirms the importance of mycotoxin human biomonitoring and highlights the important challenges that should be faced, such as the inclusion of other mycotoxins in HBM programs, the need to increase knowledge of mycotoxin metabolism and toxicokinetics, and the need for reference materials and new methodologies for treating samples. In addition, guidelines are required for analytical method validation, as well as equations to establish the relationship between human fluid levels and mycotoxin intake.
Highlights
Mycotoxins are fungal secondary metabolites produced by phytopathogenic fungi such as Aspergillus, Penicillium, Fusarium, and Alternaria toxigenic species [1].The designation of mycotoxins includes a group of highly heterogeneous compounds, in terms of chemical structure and toxicological properties [2], with a low molecular mass [3]
The classification of mycotoxins is a complex task since they have diverse chemical structures and biosynthetic origins and, they are produced by a great variety of fungal species
It should be noted that the same mycotoxin can be produced by several fungal species; for example, ochratoxin A (OTA) can be Toxins 2020, 12, 147; doi:10.3390/toxins12030147
Summary
Mycotoxins are fungal secondary metabolites produced by phytopathogenic fungi such as Aspergillus, Penicillium, Fusarium, and Alternaria toxigenic species [1].The designation of mycotoxins includes a group of highly heterogeneous compounds, in terms of chemical structure and toxicological properties [2], with a low molecular mass [3]. Mycotoxins are fungal secondary metabolites produced by phytopathogenic fungi such as Aspergillus, Penicillium, Fusarium, and Alternaria toxigenic species [1]. The classification of mycotoxins is a complex task since they have diverse chemical structures and biosynthetic origins and, they are produced by a great variety of fungal species. It should be noted that the same mycotoxin can be produced by several fungal species; for example, ochratoxin A (OTA) can be Toxins 2020, 12, 147; doi:10.3390/toxins12030147 www.mdpi.com/journal/toxins. The same fungal species can produce more than one mycotoxin. This is the case for Fusarium graminearum, which produces zearalenone (ZEA) and deoxynivalenol (DON) [3]. Aflatoxins (AFs) and ochratoxins (produced by Aspergillus spp. and Penicillium spp.), fumonisins (FBs), trichothecenes and ZEA (produced by Fusarium spp.) and patulin (PAT) and citrinin (CIT) (produced by Penicillium spp.) are the most commonly observed mycotoxins that pose serious health threats to humans and animals [4]
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