• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.278-282
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• 2017

Maize is one of the most cultivated cereals as a staple food in the world. The harvested maize is mainly stored after drying, but its quality and nutrition could be debased by fungal spoilage and mycotoxin contamination. In this study, we surveyed mycotoxin contamination fungal infection of maize kernels that were stored for almost one year after harvest in 2015. The amount of deoxynivalenol and zearalenone detected were higher than the other mycotoxin, such as aflatoxin, ochratoxin, fumonisin and T-2 toxin. In particular, level of deoxynivalenol was detected as $1200{\pm}610{\mu}g/kg$ in small size kernels, which was four to six times higher than the large and the medium size kernels. Moreover, the amount of deoxynivalenol, zearalenone, and fumonisin were increased with discolored kernels. 10 species including Fusarium spp., Aspergillus spp. and Penicillium spp. were isolated from the maize kernels. F. graminearum was predominant in the discolored kernels with detection rates of 60% (red) and 40% (brown). Our study shows that the mycotoxin contents of stored maize can be increased by discolored maize kernels mixed. Therefore elimination of the contaminated maize kernels will help prevent fungal infection and mycotoxin contamination in stored maize.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.21-29
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• 2013

The studies were conducted to investigate real condition of mycotoxin contamination in the fields before harvest and by the storages of rice straw used as roughage in Korea. It was found mycotoxin contamination before harvest of rice straw that the rice plants were detected deoxynivalenol at the initial growth, ochratoxin A and deoxynivalenol at the middle growth, and deoxynivalenol and zearalenone at the harvest periods in the fields. Also, the rice plants were contaminated by various fungi such as Fusarium sp., Fusarium proliferatum, Penicillium sp., Gibberella sp., Gibberella zeae, Mucor circinelloides and Aspergillus oryzae. The levels of fungal contamination were $10^{3-4}$ cfu/g at the initial growth, and $10^{4-5}$ cfu/g at the middle growth and harvest periods. All storage types of rice straw were contaminated with zearalenone, deoxynivalenol and ochratoxins A. The samples of rice straw contaminating mycotoxins were account for 3% in bundle rice straw, and 38% in both types of square rice straw and rice round bale silage, respectively. When 105 samples of rice bale silage were analyzed for mycotoxins depending on the regional area, mycotoxin contamination was found in 46% of total samples in Korea. Regional contaminations of mycotoxins were respectively 48, 33, 40, 50 and 57% of samples in Gyeonggi, Gangwon, Chungcheng, Yeongnam and Honam area. Rice round bale silage was contaminated by three kinds of mycotoxins (zearalenone, deoxynivalenol and ochratoxinsA) in the all of area without Chungcheong area where was contaminated zearalenone and deoxynivalenol. Ochratoxins A, deoxynivalenol and zearalenone were respectively determinated with the average levels of 2.6, 413 and $338{\mu}g/kg$ in rice round bale silage for the overall area, even if it was some difference depending on each regional area. Therefore, the above results clearly show that the rice straws were exposed to the contamination by mycotoxin and mycotoxigenic fungi before harvest in the fields, and mycotoxin contamination was not dependent on the regional area or the storage types such as bundle rice straw, square rice straw and rice round bale silage.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.356-366
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• 2018

The red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum, is one of the most common and economically important pests of stored cereal products worldwide. Furthermore, these beetles can act as vectors for several fungal post-harvest diseases. In this study, we collected T. castaneum from 49 rice processing complexes (RPCs) nationwide during 2016-2017 and identified contaminating fungal species on the surface of the beetles. Five beetles from each region were placed on potato dextrose agar media or Fusarium selection media after wet processing with 100% relative humidity at $27^{\circ}C$ for one week. A total of 142 fungal isolates were thus collected. By sequence analysis of the internal transcribed spacer region, 23 fungal genera including one unidentified taxon were found to be associated with T. castaneum. The genus Aspergillus spp. (28.9%) was the most frequently present, followed by Cladosporium spp. (12.0%), Hyphopichia burtonii (9.2%), Penicillium spp. (8.5%), Mucor spp. (6.3%), Rhizopus spp. (5.6%), Cephaliophora spp. (3.5%), Alternaria alternata (2.8%) and Monascus sp. (2.8%). Less commonly identified were genera Fusarium, Nigrospora, Beauveria, Chaetomium, Coprinellus, Irpex, Lichtheimia, Trichoderma, Byssochlamys, Cochliobolus, Cunninghamella, Mortierella, Polyporales, Rhizomucor and Talaromyces. Among the isolates, two known mycotoxin-producing fungi, Aspergillus flavus and Fusarium spp. were also identified. This result is consistent with previous studies that surveyed fungal and mycotoxin contamination in rice from RPCs. Our study indicates that the storage pest, T. castaneum, would play an important role in spreading fungal contaminants and consequently increasing mycotoxin contamination in stored rice.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.17-30
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• 1985

Mycotoxins are a group of toxicants giving a risk potential to human health in connection with the daily food intake. Food commodities once contaminated with mycotoxins can not be detoxified by any economic means and prevention was suggested as the only measure. In order to minimize the economic loss and health hazard posed by mycotoxins and toxicoses, systematic and toxicological studies on the subject should be undertaken. Most reports in Korea were concentrated on the mycological studies of relatively easy techniques and the confirmation or quantitation of mycotoxins was rarely done. Research topics to be undertaken in future may be exemplifid below: (1) Establishing assay methods for individual or multi-residue of mycotoxins (2) Monitoring of mycotoxins for suspicious food or feed samples in Korea (3) Epidemiological survey of mycotoxicoses (4) Etiological survey of disease outbreaks associated with mycotoxins (5) Accumulation of testing method and data on the toxicity of mycotoxins (6) Legal regulation to control mycotoxins and development of their detoxification / elimination methods

• Proceedings of the PSK Conference
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• 2000.04a
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• pp.131.2-131.2
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• 2000

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.13-22
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• 2020

A total of 244 cereal samples (oat, sorghum, adlay, and proso millet) were collected from fields to examine the contamination of Fusarium mycotoxins in cereals during harvest season in 2017 and 2018. The contamination levels of deoxynivalenol (DON), nivalenol (NIV), and zearalenone (ZEA) were analyzed individually by using the immunoaffinity column clean-up method with ultra performance liquid chromatography, and fumonisins (FUM) were analyzed by using the QuEChERS method with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Highest level of NIV contamination (120.0-3277.0 mg/kg) was observed in oat samples among the analyzed cereals. In the adlay samples, DON contamination was the highest (maximum level 730.0 ㎍/kg). The proso millet samples had a high frequency of detection of NIV and ZEA (61.5% and 57.9%, respectively), but the levels were low (average detection level of NIV, 75.6 ㎍/kg, for ZEA, 21.5 ㎍/kg). Among the cereal samples, sorghum had the highest contamination frequency of DON, ZEA, and FUM, and the co-occurrence of Fusarium mycotoxin was 70.0%, which was higher than the average of 29.9%. In order to safely manage Fusarium mycotoxin levels in cereals, continuous research on the development of contamination prevention technologies together with monitoring of mycotoxin contamination is needed.

• The Journal of the Korean Society for Microbiology
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.39-58
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• 1975

These studies were carried out to detect the presence of mycotoxin producing fungi in various kind of grains and foodstuffs in Korea. The experiments were divided into three parts: bacteriologic, toxicologic and electron microscopic studies. The results were summarized as follows: 1. From the 133 various samples, 426 colonies of fungi were isolated. In 405 of 426 colonies, it was possible to identify 17 genera. Among the identified strains, the predominant genera were Penicillium, Aspergillus and Alternaria. 2. In cytotoxicity test, 20 strains showed mild to severe toxic effects in mice and 24 strains showed toxic effects on HeLa cells among the 107 strains of experiments. 3. In electron microscopic studies of liver cells from animal which had been treated with toxin like substances, the liver cells showed the cytoplasmic changes: dilatation of endoplasmic reticulum, swelling of mitochondria, disappearance of mitochondrial cristae, increased number of lipid and glycogen particles. Nucleus and nuclear envelope alterations were also noted. 4. In fine structure of HeLa cells treated with culture filtrates of mycotoxin producing fungi and experimental strains had been noted a certain specific changes induced by culture filtrates. These alterations showed the disappearance of golgi complex, endoplasmic reticulum vacuolization and mitochondrial changes. 5. As a mass screening, the cytotoxicity tests of HeLa cells and histopathologic study of mice liver cells treated with toxin-like substances, employed are feasible to detect mycotoxin producing fungi.

• Safe Food
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.29-37
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• 2006

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.315-320
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• 2021

To analyze prevalence of mycotoxins, a total of 74 feedstuff samples were collected from silos (n=37) and hoppers (n=37) in nine pig farms. Six mycotoxins were tested with commercialized ELISA kits. All samples were contaminated with four or more mycotoxins. Zearalenone was detected in all of the tested samples. Ochratoxin, deoxynivalenol and H-2/HT-2 toxin were detected in more than 90% of the samples. And also, fumonisin was positive in 89.2% of the samples from the silos, 75.2% from the hoppers, respectively. On the other hand, aflatoxin was detected in about 40% of the samples. When the behavior of lactating sows was observed, possible mycotoxicosis was suspected. It was confirmed that their feedstuffs were contaminated with high levels of mycotoxins such as ochratoxin and T-2/HT-2 toxin. After cleaning the feedline, the clinical symptoms in sows suspected with mycotoxicosis were disappeared. Although mycotoxin concentration in most of the feedstuffs was below the acceptance level, these data indicate that what are required is more monitoring and continuous management for mycotoxins in pig feedstuffs.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.261-267
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• 2012

Inspection of deteriorated rices in Korea for fungal occurrence revealed that Aspergillus was the most frequently observed genus and some isolates of the Aspergillus spp. turned out to produce aflatoxin. Diverse fungal genera including Fusarium, Aspergillus, Penicillium, or Alternaria spp. were observed in most of the rice samples. Aflatoxin occurred infrequently and the levels of aflatoxin present in the rice samples were lower than regulatory limit but Fusarium toxins such as deoxynivalenol, nivalenol, zearalenone, and fumonisin occurred frequently. In rice processing complexes, fungal and mycotoxin contamination of rice decreased by milling process, resulting in the lowest level of mycotoxin and fungi in polished rice. Currently, it appears that Korean rice and milled by-products need a safety control for Fusarium toxins rather than aflatoxin.