Evaluation and detoxification of aflatoxins in ground and tree nuts using food grade organic acids

Assessing haematological parameters and probable toxicity analysis in two coastal fish species at harbouring areas of Digha coastal belt, West Bengal, India

Coastal ecosystems are vital for maintaining the biodiversity and human livelihoods, but they are increasingly subjected to anthropogenic pressures, including pollution from various sources. Present work intends to assess the possible threats in coastal ecosystem as well as coastal fish species, in particular, through haematological parameters caused due to exposure of environmental contaminants like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), potentially toxic metals (PTMs), etc. This study analysed the haematological parameters and probable toxicity levels in two important coastal fish species, viz., Mystus sp. and Mugil sp. widely available in Digha coastal belt. Different haematological parameters, such as WBCs (White Blood Cells), Lym (Lymphocytes), Gran (Granulocytes), Mid (Monocytes), RBCs (Red Blood Cells), HCT (Haematocrit) value, MCV (Mean Corpuscular Volume), MCH (Mean Corpuscular Haemoglobin), MCHC (Mean Corpuscular Haemoglobin Concentration), RDW- CV (Red Cells Distribution Width-Co-efficient of Variation), RDW- SD (Red Cells Distribution Width-Standard Deviation), PLT (Total Platelet Count), MPV (Mean Platelet Volume), PDW- SD (Platelet Distribution Width-Standard Deviation), PDW- CV (Platelet Distribution Width-Co-efficient of Variation), PCT (Plateletcrit), PLCR (Platelet Large Cell Ratio), PLCC (Platelet Large Cell Count) and many others were measured directly through Erba H360 Haematology Analyser, simultaneously air dried blood smear was stained by Haematoxylin-Eosin(H-E) and Giemsa stain for assessing morphometric alterations of RBCs, WBCs, platelets as well as to determine the differential counts of WBCs by observing through Leica DM2000 microscope. Evidence of several abnormalities in the erythrocyte's nucleus (ENAs) and the abundance of abnormal celled erythrocytes (ECAs), carcinoma (lymphoproliferative disorder, polycythaemia vera, Hodgkin lymphoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma), elevation of WBCs content, Lym %(Lymphocyte percentage), Eo(Eosinophils), monocytes, HCT and gross depletion of Ne(Neutrophils), basophils, and PLCR levels indicated a sign of major impact of contamination to two intoxicated fishes which may also affect the human being through food chain and may result into leukaemia in mammalian species, finally. However, comprehensive evaluation of the long-term impacts of the contaminants like PAHs and/or PTMs, etc., on fish populations, human health risk and coastal ecosystem is required to be addressed.

Estimation of the main air pollutants from different biomasses under combustion atmospheres by artificial neural networks

The production of biofuels to be used as bioenergy under combustion processes generates some gaseous emissions (CO, CO2, NOx, SOx, and other pollutants), affecting living organisms and requiring careful assessments. However, obtaining such information experimentally for data evaluation is costly and time-consuming and its in situ obtaining for regional biomasses (e.g., those from Northeast Brazil (NEB) is still a major challenge. This paper reports on the application of artificial neural networks (ANNs) for the prediction of the main air pollutants (CO, CO2, NO, and SO2) produced during the direct biomass combustion (N2/O2:80/20%) with the use of ultimate analysis (carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur, and oxygen). 116 worldwide biomasses were used as input data, which is a relevant alternative to overcome the lack of experimental resources in NEB and obtain such information. Cross-validation was conducted with k-fold to optimize the ANNs and performance was analyzed with the use of statistical errors for accuracy assessments. The results showed an acceptable statistical performance for all architectures of ANNs, with 0.001-12.41% MAPE, 0.001-5.82 mg Nm-3 MAE, and 0.03-52.30 mg Nm-3 RMSE, highlighting the high precision of the emissions studied. On average, the differences between predicted and real values for CO, CO2, NO, and SO2 emissions from NEB biomasses were approximately 0.01%, 10-6%, 0.14%, and 0.05%, respectively. Pearson coefficient provided consistent results of concentration of the ultimate analysis in relation to the emissions studied and effectiveness of the test set in the developed models.

Relevant mycotoxins in oil crops, vegetable oils, de-oiled cake and meals: Occurrence, control, and recent advances in elimination

Mycotoxins in agricultural commodities have always been a concern due to their negative impacts on human and livestock health. Issues associated with quality control, hot and humid climate, improper storage, and inappropriate production can support the development of fungus, causing oil crops to suffer from mycotoxin contamination, which in turn migrates to the resulting oil, de-oiled cake and meals during the oil processing. Related research which supports the development of multi-mycotoxin prevention programs has resulted in satisfactory mitigation effects, mainly in the pre-harvest stage. Nevertheless, preventive actions are unlikely to avoid the occurrence of mycotoxins completely, so removal strategies may still be necessary to protect consumers. Elimination of mycotoxin has been achieved broadly through the physical, biological, or chemical course. In view of the steadily increasing volume of scientific literature regarding mycotoxins, there is a need for ongoing integrated knowledge systems. This work revisited the knowledge of mycotoxins affecting oilseeds, food oils, cake, and meals, focusing more on their varieties, toxicity, and preventive strategies, including the methods adopted in the decontamination, which supplement the available information.

A comparative review on methods of detection and quantification of mycotoxins in solid food and feed: a focus on cereals and nuts

Many emerging factors and circumstances urge the need to develop and optimize the detection and quantification techniques of mycotoxins in solid food and feed. The diversity of mycotoxins, which have different properties and affinities, makes the standardization of the analytical procedures and the adoption of a single protocol that covers the attributes of all mycotoxins a tedious or even an impossible mission. Several modifications and improvements have been undergone in order to optimize the performance of these methods including the extraction solvents, the extraction methods, the clean-up procedures, and the analytical techniques. The techniques range from the rapid screening methods, which lack sensitivity and specificity such as TLC, to a spectrum of more advanced protocols, namely, ELISA, HPLC, and GC-MS and LC-MS/MS. This review aims at assessing the current studies related to these analytical techniques of mycotoxins in solid food and feed. It discusses and evaluates, through a critical approach, various sample treatment techniques, and provides an in-depth examination of different mycotoxin detection methods. Furthermore, it includes a comparison of their actual accuracy and a thorough analysis of the observed benefits and drawbacks.

Superparamagnetic MnFe alloy composite derived from cross-bindered of chitosan/rice husk waste/iron aluminate spinel hercynite for rapid catalytic detoxification of aflatoxin B1: Structure, performance and synergistic mechanism

The contamination of foodstuffs with aflatoxins B1 (AFB1) as carcinogen/mutagens toxin produced by Aspergillus fungi that are a major threat to the economy, safe food supply, and human health. To, we present a facile wet-impregnation and co-participation strategies for the construction of a novel superparamagnetic MnFe biocomposite (MF@CRHHT), in which dual metal oxides MnFe were anchored in/on agricultural/forestry residues (chitosan/rice husk waste/hercynite hybrid nanoparticles) and applied for rapid AFB1 detoxification by destroying in a non-thermal/microbial way. Structure, and morphology were comprehensively characterized by various spectroscopic analyses. The AFB1 removal in PMS/MF@CRHHT system followed pseudo-first-order kinetics, and exhibited excellent efficiency (99.3 % in 20 min and 83.1 % in 5.0 min) over a broad pH range (5.0-10.0). Importantly, relationship between high efficiency and physical-chemical properties, and mechanistic insight reveals that the synergistic effect could be related to the formation MnFe bond in MF@CRHHT and then mutual electron transfer between them to enhanced electron density and generate reactive oxygen species. An AFB1 decontamination pathway proposed was based on the free radical quenching experiments and analysis of the degradation intermediates. Thus, the MF@CRHHT can be applied as an efficient, cost-effective, recoverable, environment-friendly and highly efficient biomass-based activator for remediate pollution.

Aflatoxin Contamination: An Overview on Health Issues, Detection and Management Strategies

Aflatoxins (AFs) represent one of the main mycotoxins produced by Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus, with the most prevalent and lethal subtypes being AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, and AFG2. AFs are responsible for causing significant public health issues and economic concerns that affect consumers and farmers globally. Chronic exposure to AFs has been linked to liver cancer, oxidative stress, and fetal growth abnormalities among other health-related risks. Although there are various technologies, such as physical, chemical, and biological controls that have been employed to alleviate the toxic effects of AF, there is still no clearly elucidated universal method available to reduce AF levels in food and feed; the only mitigation is early detection of the toxin in the management of AF contamination. Numerous detection methods, including cultures, molecular techniques, immunochemical, electrochemical immunosensor, chromatographic, and spectroscopic means, are used to determine AF contamination in agricultural products. Recent research has shown that incorporating crops with higher resistance, such as sorghum, into animal feed can reduce the risk of AF contamination in milk and cheese. This review provides a current overview of the health-related risks of chronic dietary AF exposure, recent detection techniques, and management strategies to guide future researchers in developing better detection and management strategies for this toxin.

Current Developments of Analytical Methodologies for Aflatoxins' Determination in Food during the Last Decade (2013-2022), with a Particular Focus on Nuts and Nut Products

This review aims to provide a clear overview of the most important analytical development in aflatoxins analysis during the last decade (2013-2022) with a particular focus on nuts and nuts-related products. Aflatoxins (AFs), a group of mycotoxins produced mainly by certain strains of the genus Aspergillus fungi, are known to impose a serious threat to human health. Indeed, AFs are considered carcinogenic to humans, group 1, by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Since these toxins can be found in different food commodities, food control organizations worldwide impose maximum levels of AFs for commodities affected by this threat. Thus, they represent a cumbersome issue in terms of quality control, analytical result reliability, and economical losses. It is, therefore, mandatory for food industries to perform analysis on potentially contaminated commodities before the trade. A full perspective of the whole analytical workflow, considering each crucial step during AFs investigation, namely sampling, sample preparation, separation, and detection, will be presented to the reader, focusing on the main challenges related to the topic. A discussion will be primarily held regarding sample preparation methodologies such as partitioning, solid phase extraction (SPE), and immunoaffinity (IA) related methods. This will be followed by an overview of the leading analytical techniques for the detection of aflatoxins, in particular liquid chromatography (LC) coupled to a fluorescence detector (FLD) and/or mass spectrometry (MS). Moreover, the focus on the analytical procedure will not be specific only to traditional methodologies, such as LC, but also to new direct approaches based on imaging and the ability to detect AFs, reducing the need for sample preparation and separative techniques.

A study of potent biofertiliser and its degradation ability of monocrotophos and its in silico analysis

Potassium (K) and phosphorus (P) are the important macronutrients needed for the plant development, but it is widely present in an insoluble form for the plant's uptake. In order to increase the productivity, biofertilisers play crucial role in plant growth enhancement. Our present work focused to isolate potassium-phosphate solubilizing bacteria from the agricultural soil of tomato cultivated soil. Potassium and phosphate solubilization and degradation of monocrotophos was estimated spectrophotometrically. Out of thirteen isolates, two isolates proved to be the best P and K solubilizers. The bacterial isolates (SDKVG02 and SDKVG04) were optimized to obtain maximum P and K solubilization of 57.5 mg L-1 and 15.07 mg L-1 by the isolates. Pot experiments were conducted using SDKVG 02 and 04, immobilized on carrier materials, peat proving the best carrier with the total average green gram and chick pea length of 11.66 ± 0.0666 22.22 ± 0.0577. The MCP degradation percentage was achieved at 80 ppm of MCP with 75.8% and 64.10% by SDKVG 02 and SDKVG 04. Furthermore, production of organic acids such as malic acid, phthalic acid, ascorbic acid, nicotinic acid, and tartaric acid paves solubilization of P and K. The isolates were recognized based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing as Enterobacter hormaechei- SDKVG-02, Enterobacter cloacae SDKVG- 04. The KSB-PSB isolates also express N-fixing activity which is proved through In-silico analysis. It is worth to highlight SDKVG 02 and 04 would be potent biofertiliser exploited in increasing the soil fertility and crop productivity as well in degradation of monocrotophos present in the soil.

Single, Subsequent, or Simultaneous Treatments to Mitigate Mycotoxins in Solid Foods and Feeds: A Critical Review

Mycotoxins in solid foods and feeds jeopardize the public health of humans and animals and cause food security issues. The inefficacy of most preventive measures to control the production of fungi in foods and feeds during the pre-harvest and post-harvest stages incited interest in the mitigation of these mycotoxins that can be conducted by the application of various chemical, physical, and/or biological treatments. These treatments are implemented separately or through a combination of two or more treatments simultaneously or subsequently. The reduction rates of the methods differ greatly, as do their effect on the organoleptic attributes, nutritional quality, and the environment. This critical review aims at summarizing the latest studies related to the mitigation of mycotoxins in solid foods and feeds. It discusses and evaluates the single and combined mycotoxin reduction treatments, compares their efficiency, elaborates on their advantages and disadvantages, and sheds light on the treated foods or feeds, as well as on their environmental impact.

Recent developments for controlling microbial contamination of nuts

In recent years, the consumption of nuts has shown an increasing trend worldwide. Nuts are an essential part of several countries' economies as an excellent source of nutrients and bioactive compounds. They are contaminated by environmental factors, improper harvesting practices, inadequate packaging procedures, improper storage, and transportation. The longer storage time also leads to the greater chances of contamination from pathogenic fungi. Nuts are infected with Aspergillus species, Penicillium species, Escherichia coli, Salmonella, and Listeria monocytogenes. Therefore, nuts are associated with a high risk of pathogens and mycotoxins, which demand the urgency of using techniques for enhancing microbial safety and shelf-life stability. Many techniques such as ozone, cold plasma, irradiation, radiofrequency have been explored for the decontamination of nuts. These techniques have different efficiencies for reducing the contamination depending on processing parameters, type of pathogen, and conditions of food material. This review provides insight into decontamination technologies for reducing microbial contamination from nuts.

Ultrasound, infrared and its assisted technology, a promising tool in physical food processing: A review of recent developments

Traditional food processing techniques can no longer meet the ever increasing demand for high quality food across the globe due to its low process efficiency, high energy consumption and low product yield. This review article is focused on the mechanism and application of Infrared (IR) and ultrasound (US) technologies in physical processing of food. We herein present the individual use of IR and US (both mono-frequency and multi-frequency levels) as well as IR and US supported with other thermal and non-thermal technologies to improve their food processing performance. IR and US are recent thermal and non-thermal technologies which have now been successfully used in food industries to solve the demerits of conventional processing technologies. These environmentally-friendly technologies are characterized by low energy consumption, reduced processing time, high mass-transfer rates, better nutrient retention, better product quality, less mechanical damage and improved shelf life. This work could be, with no doubt, useful to the scientific world and food industries by providing insights on recent advances in the use of US and IR technology, which can be applied to improve food processing technologies for better quality and safer products.

Physical and Chemical Methods for Reduction in Aflatoxin Content of Feed and Food

Aflatoxins (AFs) are among the most harmful fungal secondary metabolites imposing serious health risks on both household animals and humans. The more frequent occurrence of aflatoxins in the feed and food chain is clearly foreseeable as a consequence of the extreme weather conditions recorded most recently worldwide. Furthermore, production parameters, such as unadjusted variety use and improper cultural practices, can also increase the incidence of contamination. In current aflatoxin control measures, emphasis is put on prevention including a plethora of pre-harvest methods, introduced to control Aspergillus infestations and to avoid the deleterious effects of aflatoxins on public health. Nevertheless, the continuous evaluation and improvement of post-harvest methods to combat these hazardous secondary metabolites are also required. Already in-use and emerging physical methods, such as pulsed electric fields and other nonthermal treatments as well as interventions with chemical agents such as acids, enzymes, gases, and absorbents in animal husbandry have been demonstrated as effective in reducing mycotoxins in feed and food. Although most of them have no disadvantageous effect either on nutritional properties or food safety, further research is needed to ensure the expected efficacy. Nevertheless, we can envisage the rapid spread of these easy-to-use, cost-effective, and safe post-harvest tools during storage and food processing.

Application of new technologies in decontamination of mycotoxins in cereal grains: Challenges, and perspectives

Emerging decontamination technologies have been attracted considerable attention to address the consumers' demand for high quality and safe food products. As one of the important foods in the human diet, cereals are usually stored for long periods, resulting in an increased risk of contamination by different hazards. Mycotoxins comprise one of the significant contaminants of cereals that lead to enormous economic losses to the industry and threats to human health. While prevention is the primary approach towards reducing human exposure to mycotoxins, decontamination methods have also been developed as complementary measures. However, some conventional methods (chemical treatments) do not fulfill industries' expectations due to limitations like safety, efficiency, and the destruction of food quality attributes. In this regard, novel techniques have been proposed to food to comply with the industry's demand and overcome conventional methods' limitations. Novel techniques have different efficiencies for removing or reducing mycotoxins depending on processing conditions, type of mycotoxin, and the food matrix. Therefore, this review provides an overview of novel mycotoxin decontamination technologies such as cold plasma, irradiation, and pulse light, which can be efficient for reducing mycotoxins with minimum adverse effects on the quality and nutritional properties of produce.