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Aflatoxins pose serious health risks to humans and animals

October 05, 2022 - aflatoxicosis because aflatoxigenic fungi grow in dietary staples. It is estimated that at least 4.5 billion people world-wide are at risk of exposure to foodstuffs containing aflatoxins.

Acute aflatoxicosis manifests either in humans or in animals with acute loss of appetite, vomiting, weakness, and lethargy. Pathological findings such as acute necrosis and bile duct hyperplasia are seen in domestic and experimental animals exposed to aflatoxins.

Aflatoxicosis ...

Chronic exposure to aflatoxins is linked to numerous health problems, such as cancer and kidney damage

June 07, 2019 -

A. flavus and A. parasiticus can contaminate crops in the field, at harvest, and during storage. The aflatoxins they produce are commonly found in corn and corn products, peanuts and peanut products, cottonseed, milk, and tree nuts like Brazil nuts, pecans, pistachio nuts, and walnuts. The most common and deadliest aflatoxin is aflatoxin B1. (Related: How the environment may be promoting cancer (and how you can reduce these effects).)

There have been reports of people consuming ...

Mycotoxins: What are they and why are they bad for you?

April 07, 2019 -

As much as 25 percent of the world's supply of grain has been contaminated by mycotoxin-producing molds. Both human food and animal feed are affected by these toxins.

One of the most recent cases involving mycotoxins took place in 2014. A mycotoxin called aflatoxin contaminated the corn supply in Kenya. It triggered an outbreak of the disease aflatoxicosis, which claimed 125 lives.

After that tragedy, researchers analyzed samples of local maize for signs ...

Here’s everything you need to know about aflatoxins

September 07, 2022 - aflatoxicosis in humans, especially in areas stricken by poverty, drought and other conditions for plants, with the liver as the target organ.

Researchers have associated aflatoxin toxicity with hepatocellular damage and death of body tissues (necrosis), decrease or obstruction of bile flow (cholestasis), malignant tumors of the liver (hepatomas), acute inflammation of the liver (hepatitis), hemorrhage, jaundice, fatty liver changes, scarring and permanent liver ...