Abstract
Mycotoxin exposure assessments through biomonitoring studies, based on the analysis of amniotic fluid, provides useful information about potential exposure of mothers and fetuses to ubiquitous toxic metabolites that are routinely found in food and the environment. In this study, amniotic fluid samples (n = 86) were collected via abdominal amniocentesis at 15–22 weeks of gestation from pregnant women with a high risk of chromosomal anomalies or genetic fetal defects detected during 1st trimester prenatal screening. These samples were analyzed for the presence of the most typical Aspergillus, Penicillium and Fusarium mycotoxins, with a focus on aflatoxins, ochratoxins and trichothecenes, using the LC-FLD/DAD method. The results showed that the toxin was present in over 75% of all the tested samples and in 73% of amniotic fluid samples from fetuses with genetic defects. The most frequently identified toxins were nivalenol (33.7%) ranging from <LOQ to 4037.6 ng/mL, and aflatoxins (31.4%), including aflatoxin G1, ranging from <LOQ to 0.4 ng/mL. Ochratoxin A and deoxynivalenol were identified in 26.7% and 27.9% of samples, respectively. Bearing in mind the above, the detection of mycotoxin levels in amniotic fluid is useful for the estimation of overall risk characterization with an attempt to link the occurrence of fetal abnormalities with exposure to mycotoxins in utero.
Highlights
To date, it is believed that the pregnancy and the good health of newborns are influenced by maternal infections, hypertensive disease in pregnancy, smoking and insufficient maternal nutrition [1,2]
The toxins that formed in the field and those created during the storage of grain products were analyzed
Aflatoxin values above 20 ppb were obtained in 74.1% of samples of the amniotic fluid; 67.2% of neonatal cord blood samples and 62.4% of venous maternal blood samples. These results suggest that these mycotoxins present in the maternal blood cross the placental barrier and can accumulate in the fetus, which further explains the high amount of aflatoxins in the amniotic fluid and the intrauterine exposure to toxins
Summary
It is believed that the pregnancy and the good health of newborns are influenced by maternal infections, hypertensive disease in pregnancy, smoking and insufficient maternal nutrition [1,2]. Food consumed by pregnant women may contain dangerous natural products such as mycotoxins. Mycotoxins are hazardous metabolites which are produced by fungi. Those fungi are divided into two groups: field fungi that invade before harvest (mainly Fusarium species), and storage fungi that occur only after harvest (Aspergillus and Penicillium species). Mycotoxins show harmful effects on humans, animals and plants, which result in diseases and economic losses. Worldwide feed and food contamination with those secondary metabolites is a significant problem [3,4,5]
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