What are afflatoxins?
Aflatoxins are a family of toxins produced by mushrooms in the family Aspergillus . These toxins are among the most famous and most commonly studied mycotoxins, toxins produced by mushrooms and can be found around the world. In many foods, trace amounts of aflatoxins are present because it is essentially impossible to eliminate them completely without very expensive processing procedures. In fact, regulatory agencies admit specifically the levels of aflatoxins in food and recognize that it would not be possible to observe the safety standard that has banned all these mycotoxins. Mushrooms can settle on crops in the field and produce afflatoxins that contaminate the crop even before it gets to the market, and flies into cereals, nuts and legumes stored in warm and humid conditions. Poor food handling can result in fungal colonization of food stored in domestic descriptions, food processing Faceties and so on, resulting in an increase in afflatoxin levels.
These toxins act primarily on the liver and damage most of the organisms on the ground, although people seem to be more resistant than some other animals. When an animal, whether a human being or a trout, uses afflatoxins, the liver can be seriously inflamed, disrupt the liver function and potentially turn the liver completely. Lower doses may result in chronic immune problems. Aflatoxin exposure also radically increases the risk of liver cancer, with some afflatoxins in fact the ability to mutate DNA in the liver to cause tumors.
High doses can lead to immediate afflatoxicity, causing serious diseases. Chronic exposure to mild doses can also lead to the development of liver cancer. In people with hepatitis B, aflatoxins can interact with hepatitemje to worsen the patient's condition. Is if exposure is suspicious, there is a testing for aflatoxin poisoning to determine whether toxins are present in the body or inwhat concentrations.
people can avoid afflatoxins by handling cereals, nuts and legumes and carefully store them in a cold dry place that is not hospitable for Aspergillus mushrooms. Foods with signs of molds and molds should be discarded rather than consumed. In the case of processed foods that contain ingredients that could be contaminated by afflatoxins, people should take care of the purchase of products from renowned manufacturers who have high quality devices where contamination is limited. It is also recommended to be vaccinated for hepatitis B, both to reduce the sensitivity to afflatoxins and to prevent infection with this disease with a preliminary vaccine.