• Toxicological Research
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• 제6권2호
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• pp.159-166
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• 1990

The ability of many toxigenic fungi to invade and develop in a wide variety of raw ingredients of human diet renders human exposure to mycotoxing very difficult to avoid. Most of the energy-rich commodities, such as cereal grains, oil seeds, tree nuts, and dehydrated fruits, are susceptible to mycotoxin contamination. Mycotoxins therefare have been recognized as an important class of hazardous substances in the human food chain. Although human exposure to mycotoxins is largely through ingestion, inhalation and skin contact may also be significant under conditions other than consumption of foods. Human ingestion of mycotoxins is due to consumption of contaminated dietary ingredients and the edible tissues and products of domestic animals that have been exposed to mycotoxins in moldy feed. Large scale acute human mycotoxicoses, such as ergotism in France, alimentary toxic aleukia in Russia, yellow rice syndrome in Japan, endemic nephropathy in Balkan countries, and acute aflatoxin poisonings in India and Taiwan, have been well documented, indicating that mycotoxicosis is a global problem. In some incidents, hundreds of victims were killed and many more became seriously ill. The mycotoxins that have been implicated in the etiology of these human diseases include aflatoxins, citreoviridin, cyclopiazonic acid, ergot alkaloids, moniliformin, ochratoxin A, trichothecenes, tenuazonic acid, and zearalenone. Among these, aflatoxins have been also implicated in the etiology of human primary liver cancer in those high-incidence countries in Africa and southeast Asia. It is well recognized that cause-effect relationship between mycotoxins and human diseases is very difficult to establish, especially for the cancer connection. Careful risk assessment must be performed to determine whether a mycotoxin indeed warrants costly regulatory actions.

• 한국식품위생안전성학회지
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• 제8권2호
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• pp.23-32
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• 1993

Species of the genus Fusarium are worldwide in their distribution. They are saprophytes as soil inhabitants and parasites of cultivated plants. Some isolates of certain species car capable of producing mycotoxins. Mycotoxicoses, including moldy corn toxicosis, alimentary toxic aleukia, fusariotoxicosis, and rel mold disease are known to be associated with trichothecene-producing fungi. Historically severe epidemic of cereal scab occred in the southern part of Korea in 1963. The epidemic caused a social problem because of not only heavy economic losses but also mycotoxicoses to humans and farm animals. However the toxic principles were remained unknown until some publications in 1980's indicated that trichothecenes and zearalenone were major mycotoxins in Korea cereals contaminated with Fusarium moniliforme have been found to be associated with human and animal disease such as leukoencephalomalacia in horses, pulmonary edema in swine and esophageal cancer in humans. High concentrations of fumonisins have been detected in corn samples from high espohoageal cancer risk areas of South Africa and China. Thus fumonisins have been implicated in the etiolgy of human esophageal cancer in those high incidence countries. Recently increase of imported cereals from foreign countries demands to assess the safety of mycotoxins in Korea. The informations on the natural occurrence of mycotoxins are needed to solve the toxicological problems in humans and farm animals associated with the consumption of moldy cereals.