Introduction: Aflatoxin (AFT) is a class of chemical structure similar compounds, are dihydrofuran coumarin derivatives. Aflatoxins are secondary metabolites produced mainly by Aspergillus flavus (aspergillus flavus) and Aspergillus parasiticus (a.parasiticus), which have the highest probability of occurring in foods and feeds in hot and humid areas.
They exist in the soil, plants and animals, a variety of nuts, especially easy to contaminate peanuts, corn, rice, soybeans, wheat and other grain and oil products, is the most toxic of mycotoxins, mycotoxins to human health hazards are extremely prominent in a class of mycotoxins.
Aflatoxin and human health: Human health is jeopardized by aflatoxin mainly due to the consumption of aflatoxin-contaminated food. Prevention of this contamination is very difficult due to the fact that the presence of the fungus in food or food ingredients is widespread. National health authorities prohibit the use of heavily contaminated food for food processing and set standards to monitor the implementation of these standards. However, it is not possible to control foods and grains containing low concentrations of aflatoxins. Consumption of aflatoxin-contaminated food is positively associated with cancer incidence in developing countries. Work at disease research institutes in Asia and Africa has shown a positive correlation between aflatoxins in food and Liver Cell Cancer (LCC). Prolonged consumption of foods containing low levels of aflatoxins is considered to be a major cause of liver, stomach and intestinal cancer. In 1988, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified aflatoxin B1 as a human carcinogen. In addition to this aflatoxin and other disease-causing factors (such as hepatitis viruses) have a superimposed effect on the induction of human disease.
The LD50 of aflatoxin Bl is 0.36 mg/kg body weight, which belongs to the range of extraordinarily toxic poisons (animal LD50<10 mg/kg = its toxicity is 10 times greater than that of potassium cyanide and 68 times greater than that of arsenic). It causes human poisoning mainly by damaging the liver, hepatitis cirrhosis, liver necrosis and so on. Clinical manifestations include stomach discomfort, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting, abdominal distension and liver tenderness, etc.; in severe cases, edema coma occurs, and even convulsions and death. Aflatoxin is the strongest carcinogen found. Its carcinogenicity is 900 times that of butter yellow, 75 times greater than the ability of dimethylnitrosamine to induce liver cancer, and 4000 times greater than 3,4 benzo(a)pyrene. It mainly induces liver cancer in animals and also induces stomach cancer, kidney cancer, rectal cancer and cancers of the mammary gland, ovary, small intestine and other parts of the body.
Prevention methods: mold growth and reproduction of mold requires a certain temperature, humidity, oxygen and moisture content, such as one of these factors can be controlled to achieve the purpose of mold; de-toxicity of aflatoxin; the content of more than the national standard for grain and oil food must be de-toxicity treatment. Currently commonly used de-toxification methods are physical removal method, chemical removal method and biological removal method: a physical removal b chemical removal method c biological detoxification method