Penicillium spp. mycotoxins found in food and feed and their health effects

Carolina Otero; Cristian Arredondo; Alex Echeverría-Vega; Felipe Gordillo-Fuenzalida

Keywords: : toxicity, fungi, food and feedstuffs

Abstract

Mycotoxins are toxic secondary metabolites produced by fungi. These compounds have different structures and target different organs, acting at different steps of biological processes inside the cell. Around 32 mycotoxins have been identified in fungal Penicillium spp. isolated from food and feed. Some of these species are important pathogens which contaminate food, such as maize, cereals, soybeans, sorghum, peanuts, among others. These microorganisms can be present in different steps of the food production process, such as plant growth, harvest, drying, elaboration, transport, and packaging. Although some Penicillium spp. are pathogens, some of them are used in elaboration of processed foods, such as cheese and sausages. This review summarises the Penicillium spp. mycotoxin toxicity, focusing mainly on the subgenus Penicillium, frequently found in food and feed. Toxicity is reviewed both in animal models and cultured cells. Finally, some aspects of their regulations are discussed.

Más información

Título de la Revista: WORLD MYCOTOXIN JOURNAL
Volumen: 13
Número: 3
Editorial: WAGENINGEN ACADEMIC PUBLISHERS
Fecha de publicación: 2020
Página de inicio: 323
Página final: 343
Idioma: ingles
URL: https://doi.org/10.3920/WMJ2019.2556