Mycotoxin Contamination in Hazelnut: Current Status, Analytical Strategies, and Future Prospects

Identifying Region-Specific Allergy Sensitization Clusters to Optimize Diagnosis and Reduce Costs

OBJECTIVE

To delineate quantitatively the allergen sensitization patterns in a large pediatric cohort and inform the selection of a region-specific panel of allergen tests for timely and cost-effective in vitro atopy screening.

STUDY DESIGN

IgE levels for specific allergens from patients in the Texas Children's Health System were analyzed retrospectively. Statistical and network analyses were conducted to reveal sensitization patterns.

RESULTS

Network analysis of 114 distinct allergens among 12 065 patients identified 2 main groups of allergens: environmental and food. Approximately 67.5% of patients were sensitized to environmental allergens, 47.2% to food allergens, and 7.3% to at least 1 allergen from both groups. We identified a novel panel of 13 allergens that could detect sensitization in 95% of patients, whereas panels of 7 allergens within each category effectively identified sensitization in 95% of patients with specific sensitivities. This data-driven approach is estimated to reduce overall testing costs by 52%. In agreement with literature, we observed correlations among allergens within specific categories, such as pollen, shellfish, nuts, and dairy allergens.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides insights into allergen sensitization patterns informing an algorithmic testing approach tailored for primary care settings. The use of a region and population-specific test panel can efficiently identify atopy, leading to more targeted testing. This strategy has the potential to refine laboratory testing, reduce costs, and improve the appropriateness of referrals to allergy specialists, ultimately enhancing diagnostic accuracy and resource allocation.

Does hazelnut consumption affect brain health and function against neurodegenerative diseases?

INTRODUCTION

A healthy daily diet and consuming certain nutrients, such as polyphenols, vitamins, and unsaturated fatty acids, may help neuronal health maintenance. Polyphenolic chemicals, which have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, are involved in the neuroprotective pathway. Because of their nutritional value, nuts have been shown in recent research to be helpful in neuroprotection.

OBJECTIVE

Hazelnut is often consumed worldwide in various items, including processed foods, particularly in bakery, chocolate, and confectionery products. This nut is an excellent source of vitamins, amino acids, tocopherols, phytosterols, polyphenols, minerals, and unsaturated fatty acids. Consuming hazelnut may attenuate the risk of neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, and Huntington's disease due to its anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant qualities.

RESULTS

Many documents introduce hazelnut as an excellent choice to provide neuroprotection against neurodegenerative disorders and there is some direct proof of its neuroprotective effects.

DISCUSSION

So hazelnut consumption in daily diet may reduce neurodegenerative disease risk and be advantageous in reducing the imposed costs of dealing with neurodegenerative diseases.

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.

Biocontrol Potential of Antagonistic Yeasts on In Vitro and In Vivo Aspergillus Growth and Its AFB1 Production

Aspergillus flavus is a major aflatoxin B₁, posing significant health concerns to humans, crops, and producer fungi. Due to the undesirable consequences of the usage of synthetic fungicides, biological control using yeasts has gained more attention. In this study, eight isolates of epiphytic yeasts belonging to Moesziomyces sp., Meyerozyma sp. and Metschnikowia sp., which have been identified as antagonists, were isolated from different plants, including grapes, blueberries, hawthorns, hoşkıran, beans and grape leaf. While volatile organic compounds (VOCs) produced by Moesziomyces bullatus DN-FY, Metschnikowia aff. pulcherrima DN-MP and Metschnikowia aff. pulcherrima 32-AMM reduced in vitro A. flavus mycelial growth and sporulation, only VOCs produced by Metschnikowia aff. fructicola 1-UDM were found to be effective at reducing in vitro AFB₁ production. All yeasts reduced the mycelial growth of A. flavus by 76-91%, while AFB₁ production reduced to 1.26-10.15 ng/g and the control plates' growth was 1773 ng/g. The most effective yeast, Metschnikowia aff. Pulcherrima DN-HS, reduced Aspergillus flavus growth and aflatoxin B₁ production on hazelnuts. The AFB₁ content on hazelnuts reduced to 333.01 ng/g from 536.74 ng/g. To our knowledge, this is the first report of yeasts isolated from plants being tested as potential biological control agents to reduce AFB₁ production on hazelnuts.

Mycotoxins’ Prevalence in Food Industry By-Products: A Systematic Review

The recovery of biomolecules from food industry by-products is of major relevance for a circular economy strategy. However, by-products’ contamination with mycotoxins represents a drawback for their reliable valorization for food and feed, hampering their application range, especially as food ingredients. Mycotoxin contamination occurs even in dried matrices. There is a need for the implantation of monitoring programs, even for by-products used as animal feed, since very high levels can be reached. This systematic review aims to identify the food by-products that have been studied from 2000 until 2022 (22 years) concerning mycotoxins’ contamination, distribution, and prevalence in those by-products. PRISMA (“Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and MetaAnalyses”) protocol was performed via two databases (PubMed and SCOPUS) to summarize the research findings. After the screening and selection process, the full texts of eligible articles (32 studies) were evaluated, and data from 16 studies were considered. A total of 6 by-products were assessed concerning mycotoxin content; these include distiller dried grain with solubles, brewer’s spent grain, brewer’s spent yeast, cocoa shell, grape pomace, and sugar beet pulp. Frequent mycotoxins in these by-products are AFB1, OTA, FBs, DON, and ZEA. The high prevalence of contaminated samples, which surpasses the limits established for human consumption, thus limiting their valorization as ingredients in the food industry. Co-contamination is frequent, which can cause synergistic interactions and amplify their toxicity.