University of Buea Faculty of Science

Department of Animal Biology and Conservation

Course code and title: Zoo709, Applied Zoology

Topic: AFLATOXINS and CANCER

By

Ojong-Nkongho Grace M’Ayuk

(SC22P251)

Course Instructor:
Prof. Irene Sumbele
2022/2023
 Outline

 Introduction
 What is aflatoxin
 Origin of Aflatoxins
 Classification
 Consequences of Aflatoxin
 Sources aflatoxins
 Association to cancer
 Regulations and Detoxification
 Conclusions
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 Introduction
 In Africa, aflatoxins pose major risks to human and animal health, nutrition, as
well as intraregional and inter-national trade.

 Aflatoxins are some of the most common toxic fungal metabolites, collectively
known as mycotoxins, produced by certain

strains of the fungus Aspergillus

(Klich, 2007; Nathan, 2021).

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What are Aflatoxins
 Aflatoxins are a family of toxins produced by certain fungi that are found on
agricultural crops such as maize (corn), peanuts, cottonseed, and tree nuts,
rice and other agricultural products.

 The main fungi that produce aflatoxins are 

• Aspergillus flavus 

• Aspergillus parasiticus,

• Rarely A. nomius

Aflatoxins are poisonous carcinogens and mutagens that are produced by

certain molds ( Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus) which grow in soil,
decaying vegetation, hay, and grains. 4

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 Aflatoxins
 Aflatoxin-producing fungi can contaminate crops at any stage i.e. in the field, at harvest,
and during storage.

 Accumulation of Aflatoxins depends on the following:

• Moisture

• Temperature: can grow in temps between 12 and 48 degree Celsius and 40 degrees
latitude north and south

• Plant density

• Poor harvest practices

• Improper storage

 Its very difficult to remove them once they affect the crops due to their high stability and
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thermal resistance to dried products.

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 Origin of Aflatoxins
 In late 1950s and early 1960s AFT was recorded in UK with over 100,000

deaths from consumption of peanut feeds infested with Aspergillus flavus

and hence was given the name Aflatoxin.

 A. for the genus Aspergillus, FLA for the species flavus and toxin

 In 1974 outbreak of hepatitis due to aflatox ins in India with about 106

deaths registered from infested maize

 In 1981- was seen in East Kenya from consumption of home grown maize
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Classification

 Taxomically these fungi species are from:

• Phylum: Ascomycota

• Class: Eurotiomycetes

• Order: Eurotiales

• Family: Trichocomaceae

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Types of Aflatoxins
 There are more than 20 known Aflatoxins but the main ones are
• Aflatoxin B1  (AFT-B1) produced by Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus
• Aflatoxin B2
• Aflatoxin G1 (AFT- G1
produced by some Group II A. flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus
• Aflatoxin G2
 Others
metabolite of aflatoxin B1 in humans and animals (exposure
• Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1),
• Aflatoxin M2, metabolite of aflatoxin B2 in milk of cattle fed on contaminated foods

 Their names are given based on how they appear under UV-light
• G- for green fluorescence
• B- for blue fluorescence
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 1 and 2 stands for higher and lower relative mobility respectively
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Consequences of AFT
 They are of great concern of public health dues to their ability to

• Accumulate in the body

• Found in edible tissues of human such as liver and muscles

• Found in animal food products such as milk and eggs

• Found in human maternal breast milk and maternal blood cord

 Health consequences
• Acute and chronic Aflatoxicosis

• Aflatoxin related immune suppression

• Liver disease (liver cancer and cirrhosis)

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Cont…
 Mutagenesis

 Nutrition related problem such as stunted growth

 Adverse pregnancy outcomes including

–premature delivery

-pregnancy loss

- intrauterine growth restriction

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 Chemical Structures

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 Physiochemical properties

 Forms colorless to pale yellow crystals

 Intensely fluorescence in ultraviolet light

 Slightly soluble in water

 Insoluble in non-polar solvents

 Freely soluble in moderately polar organic solvents (e.g. in methanol and

dimethyl sulfoxide).

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Sources of Aflatoxins

 A. parasiticus- dominant in peanuts(groundnuts)

A. flavus- dominant in corn, cottonseed and trea nuts

A. nomius- this has been reported in tree nuts, sugarcane and insects such as
alkali bees.

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Aflatoxin infecting the food chain

Susceptible crops
Poor storage

Human consumption
Animal consumption

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Impact on animal and human health
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Exposure and absorption
 Exposure and absorption in human and animal is in two ways:

• Direct ingestion Highly liposoluble: easily absorbed from

the site of absorption
• Inhalation
Gastrointestinal tract and respiratory
tract

Absorption across cell membrane:

reaching blood circulation

Distributed in blood to different tissued

and to liver

Metabolism
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 Association of Aflatoxin with cancer
 In 1993 IARC (International Agency For Research on Cancer) classified AFT as group I

carcinogen

• AFTs-B1 as the most potent natural occurring hepatocarcinogen

• A direct correlation between degree of exposure of AFTs and incidence of HCC

(hepatocellular carcinoma).

 HCC

• Accounts for 9.2% of all new cancer worldwide

• Ranked third in annual cancer mortality rate with about 93% of patients dying withn 12
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months of onset of symptoms.
Mechanism of Action
Plants stress Poor storage
in field condition Acute Aflatoxicosis

Aflatoxin accumulation in food

crops Aflatoxin-8,9 epoxide
binds to liver
Aflatoxin Liver biotransformation to
consumption Aflatoxin-8,9 epoxide
By hepatic enzymes
Aflatoxin-8,9 epoxide
Altered intestinal Modulation of binds to DNA
integrity cytokine expression
Chronic hepatitis B
infection

Stunted growth in Immune suppression Hepatocellular

children carcinoma 18
 Outbreaks
 2003 Kenya: acute poisoning, 120 confirmed deaths.

 February–March 2013: Romania, Serbia, Croatia imported into western Europe -

2013 aflatoxin contamination.

 February 2013: Iowa contamination.

 2014 (ongoing): Nepal and Bangladesh, neonatal exposures, found in umbilical

cord blood.

 2019 Kenya: five brands of maize flour recalled due to contamination.

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 2021 USA: Contamination of pet food manufactured by Midwestern Pet Food,

 Detection
 The determination of AFTs has been carried out using

• TLC: Thin Layer Chromatography method

• HPTLC: High-Performance Thin Layer Chromatography

• HPLC: High-Performance Liquid Chromatography

• LC-MS: Liquid chromatography/mass spectroscopy 

• Immunological methods

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Decontamination/detoxification

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 Biological methods

1. Epoxide hydrolase and Glutathione-s-transferase involved in detoxification of activated AFB1

Glutathione conjugated with Glutathione-s-

AFB1-8,9 epoxide transferase

Glutathione Aflatoxin conjugate Removal from cell

2.
AFB1 AFQ1 (less toxic) Excreted via urine
Cytoplasmic
reductase

3. CYP1A2 (Cytochrome P450 Family 1 Subfamily A Member 2. A protein coding gene) is effective
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in hydroxylation of AFB1 to less potent AFM1, which is a poor substrate of epoxidation

Physical methods

 Various methods have been recommended to detox aflatoxin contaminated food

• Treatment with ammonia: used for detoxifying cotton, peanut and corn meals. NH3

reacts with AFB1, molecular structure is irreversible altered.

• Treatment with sodium biphosphate: depriving the AFT molecule of main DNA

molecule reaction site, thus reducing mutagenic potential

• Treatment with calcium hydroxide: able to reduce contamination level when used

alone or in combination with formaldehyde in peanut meal.

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• Addition Sorbents like silicas, aluminas and aluminosilicates binds AFT to solution
Promising technologies and practices
for aflatoxin mitigation

Pre-harvest solutions

Pre-harvest solutions currently available are based on Good Agricultural Practices

Insect resistant crops,

Good tillage and weeding practices

Appropriate use of fertilizers

Irrigation, and crop rotation

Practices such as treating soil with lime and farmyard manure have proven
successful at reducing aflatoxin contamination levels 24
Post-harvest stage

 Early removal of high-risk seeds, e.g., those that are damaged, immature, or
discolored

 Manual sorting, seed size and density separation, or electronic color sorting.

 Electronic color sorting has proved to be the most effective aflatoxin management
strategy available in the processing phase.

 Thorough drying, prompt storage and transport using clean, dry containers are the
basic elements of aflatoxin prevention and control.

 Timely harvest is also critical for aflatoxin prevention

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Storage and processing stage

 Clean, dry, insect and rodent free storage conditions are critical to prevent
aflatoxin growth as noted by the USAID desk review.

 Making storage options inexpensive and accessible is of paramount importance for

consistent, long-term utilization.

 During processing, cleaning the cereal/groundnut by sorting and washing

 Roasting also had some promising reductions in aflatoxins, up to an 85% reduction

in B1 aflatoxin.

 Wet and dry milling, canning, roasting, baking, frying, and extrusion cooking.
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Applications in food processing industries

 Physical cleaning and separation procedures: damaged seed/nuts/kernel is

remove hence 40-80% reduction of Aflatoxin levels

 Processes such as dry and wet milling : results in distribution of Aflatoxin

residues into less utilized fractions of the commodity

 Ammonification of Aflatoxin contaminated commodities: alters the

concentrations as well as toxic and carcinogenic effects by >99%

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Regulations

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Regulation

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 Conclusion
 AFTs are the most well known and researched mycotoxins. With maize and groundnut
being the most contaminated commodities.

 Medicinal helps can also be contaminated by the pathogens.

 Developing countries are the most affected.

 AFT-B1 is the most potent causing HCC (Hepatocellular carcinogen) and other adverse
health effect to humans and animals .

 Several countries have set up regulations to reduce the contamination of AFT.

 Increase Awareness of AFTs will be a good ay to reduce contamination levels of Aflatoxin

in developing countries

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 References
 Termination of aflatoxins in commercial nuts and nut products using liquid chromatography
tandem mass spectrometry". World Mycotoxin Journal. 4 (2): 119–127.
doi:10.3920/WMJ2010.1229.

 Aflatoxin threat in Nepal, Bangladesh". SciDev.Net South Asia. 2014-12-17. Archived from the
original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2016-10-17.

 Eastern and Southern Africa 2011 Highlights" (PDF). ICRISAT. 2012. Retrieved 17 October
2016.

 "Dog food recall underscores toxic danger in drought-hit U.S. corn". Reuters. February 25,
2013.

 Mutahi B (2019-11-15). "How safe is Kenya's staple food?". Retrieved 2019-11-15.

 US pet food recalled after 70 dogs die and others fall sick". BBC News. 2021-01-14. Retrieved
2021-01-14. 31
Thanks for your attention

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