Mycotoxins are toxins produced by a fungus or mold under certain environmental conditions, generally tropical or temperate. A mycotoxin is considered poisonous because it can cause harm to your health. A sample of fungi that produce these fungal toxins are aspergillus, fusarium and penicillium.
Research and discovery involving mycotoxins is still emerging. So, this blurb only offers some general info about these fungal toxins.
Not all fungal products are toxic to humans and not all toxins produced by fungus are categorized as a mycotoxin. For instance, fungal products may only be toxic to bacteria (antibiotics) or plants (phytotoxins). Also, the reason some mushrooms are poisonous is not because of a mycotoxin.
Mycotoxins usually gain entry by ingesting contaminated food, but other possible routes are inhalation or absorbed through the skin with direct contact. Some mycotoxins that are of most concern involve human health. Just some of foods they may be found on are:
- fumonisins ~ corn
- ergot akaloids ~ rye
- patulin ~ rotting apples
- citrinin ~ rice, wheat, corn
- trichothecenes ~ wheat, oats, corn
- ochratoxin A ~ beans, coffee, grapes
- aflatoxin ~ corn, peanuts, cottonseed
- zearalenone ~ maize, barley, oats, wheat, rice, sorghum
Although some mycotoxins are used for medicinal purposes, most are toxic if consumed in a “substantial” amount.
The FAO of the United Nations estimates that a quarter of the world’s food crops are contaminated with mycotoxins. And because mycotoxins are considered natural contaminants in food, some level of ingestion is nearly impossible to avoid. Unfortunately, chronic exposure to some of these fungus produced toxins may cause significant health problems, like:
- cancer
- gangrene
- live damage
- vasodilation
- nephropathy
- hypertension
- hemorrhaging
- kidney damage
- blood disorders
- digestive problems
- pulmonary edema, respiratory distress
- neurological issues ~ tremors, convulsions
- immune suppression leading to increased infection susceptibility
Symptoms caused by exposure to mycotoxins may involve:
Several of which mimic cold and flu symptoms.
The health effects of aflatoxin is the most extensively researched of all mycotoxins. This mycotoxin is associated with various diseases and there is strong evidence that it is considered a cancer causing fungal toxin, particularly liver cancer.
It’s also believed that the severity of mycotoxin poisoning may be heightened by:
The degree to which mycotoxins pose a health danger is still in its infancy.
Until such time that more is known, your best defense likely lies in not eating moldy nor rotting food and consume a healthy and varied diet. And neither cooking or stomach acid during digestion will destroy these tenaciously stable fungal toxins.