Mycotoxin Menace in Stored Agricultural Commodities

Mycotoxins are the diverse groups of toxic secondary metabolites of filamentous fungi and the prime contaminant of agricultural commodities worldwide. These low molecular weight compounds, suspected to be the virulence factor for fungi, often possess properties like hepatotoxicity, carcinogenicity, neurotoxicity, teratogenicity etc. Since the ages, many instances of devastating health hazards (mycotoxicosis) induced by mycotoxin contaminated food and feed in humans and animals have been recorded. On the brink of population inflation and resultant food shortage, mycotoxigenic fungal genera like Aspergillus, Fusarium and Penicillium have posed a serious threat to mankind. Mycotoxins like aflatoxin, ochratoxin, deoxynivalenol, zearalenone, fumonisin have gained global concern due to their potential to impair food safety and security. Anywhere in the food chain, mycotoxin contamination of various stored commodities can occur, rendering it as an accumulative process starting from the field, aggravated during the later stages like harvesting, threshing, drying and storage upon receiving conducive environmental conditions. So, a holistic approach comprised of both pre and post-harvest strategies to get rid of the mycotoxin contamination of agricultural commodities is much needed in this era.