Aflatoxin B1 Metabolism of Reared Alphitobius diaperinus in Different Life-Stages

Mycotoxins on edible insects: Should we be worried?

Edible insects are a solid alternative to meet the growing demand for animal protein. However, there are doubts regarding the safety of insect consumption. Mycotoxins are substances of concern for food safety, as they may cause harmful effects on the human organism and accumulate in the tissues of some animals. This study focuses on the characteristics of the main mycotoxins, the mitigation of human consumption of contaminated insects, and the effects of mycotoxins on insect metabolism. To date, studies reported the interaction of the mycotoxins aflatoxin B1, ochratoxin A, zearalenone, deoxynivalenol, fumonisin B1, and T-2, isolated or combined, in three insect species from Coleoptera and one from Diptera order. The use of rearing substrates with low mycotoxin contamination did not reduce the survival and development of insects. Fasting practices and replacing contaminated substrate with a decontaminated one decreased the concentration of mycotoxins in insects. There is no evidence that mycotoxins accumulate in the tissues of the insects' larvae. Coleoptera species showed high excretion capacity, while Hermetia illucens had a lower excretion capacity of ochratoxin A, zearalenone, and deoxynivalenol. Thus, a substrate with low mycotoxin contamination could be used for raising edible insects, particularly from the Coleoptera order.

Fipronil and fipronil sulfone in chicken: From in vitro experiments to in vivo PBK model predictions

In 2017 a large-scale fipronil contamination in eggs occurred in several European countries. Fipronil and its metabolites have the potential to be transferred into the eggs of laying hens, thereby entering the human food chain. Here, first the metabolism of fipronil was measured in vitro using chicken liver S9. The results show that fipronil is mainly metabolised into fipronil sulfone and the clearance obtained in vitro was extrapolated to in vivo liver clearance. In a second step a physiologically based kinetic model was developed with a focus on fipronil and its major sulfone metabolite and the model outcome was compared to available in vivo data in eggs from the literature. The experimentally obtained clearance was used as model input to evaluate whether such an in vitro-based model can be used in an early phase of a contamination incident to predict the time-concentration curves. Overall, all model predictions were within a 10-fold difference and the estimated elimination half-life for fipronil equivalents was 14 days. In vitro experiments are definitely recommended compared to in vivo studies, since they provide a fast first insight into the behaviour of a chemical in an organism.