• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.243-249
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• 2011

Korean red ginseng (KRG), the steamed root of Panax ginseng Meyer, has a variety of biological properties, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anticancer effects. Aflatoxin $B_1$ ($AFB_1$) produced by the Aspergillus spp. causes acute hepatotoxicity by lipid peroxidation and oxidative DNA damage, and induces liver carcinoma in humans and laboratory animals. This study was performed to examine the protective effects of KRG against hepatotoxicity induced by $AFB_1$ using liver-specific serum marker analysis, histopathology, and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling. In addition, to elucidate the possible mechanism of hepatoprotective effects, superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and malondialdehyde were analyzed. Rats were treated with 250 mg/kg of KRG (KRG group) or saline ($AFB_1$ group) for 4 weeks and then received 150 ${\mu}g/kg$ of $AFB_1$ intraperitoneally for 3 days. Rats were sacrificed at 12 h, 24 h, 48 h, 72 h, or 1 wk after $AFB_1$ treatment. In the KRG pre-treatment group, serum alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and malondialdehyde levels were low, but superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase activities were high as compared to the $AFB_1$ alone group. Histopathologically, $AFB_1$ treatment induced necrosis and apoptosis in hepatocytes, and led to inflammatory cells infiltration in the liver. KRG pre-treatment ameliorated these changes. These results indicate that KRG may have protective effects against hepatotoxicity induced by $AFB_1$ that involve the antioxidant properties of KRG.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.641-648
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• 2009

A one-step simultaneous immunchromatographic (OS-ICG) assay using colloidal gold-monoclonal antibody (gold-MAb) conjugates was developed for the rapid multianalysis of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and ochratoxin A (OTA) in feed samples. Visual detection limits for AFB1 and OTA were 0.5 and 2.5 ng/mL, respectively, and the results were obtained within 15 min. Matrix interference from the feed extracts was efficiently reduced by appropriate dilution with buffer. Cut-off values of the OS-ICG assay for the feed spiked with AFB1/OTA mixtures (5/5, 10/10, 25/25, 50/55, 100/100 ${\mu}g/kg$) were 10 and 50 ${\mu}g/kg$ for AFB1 and OTA. The comparative analyses of 65 feed samples by OS-ICG, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) showed good agreement. In this study, we confirmed that simultaneous analysis based on immunoassay is possible and it can be used as an on-site multianalysis of AFB1 and OTA in feed, food, and agricultural products.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.643-646
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• 2006

Because of potential health hazards of aflatoxins for humans, the present study was conducted to monitor aflatoxin $B_1\;(AFB_1)$ in livestock feeds. A total of 249 samples of feeds collected in Korea were analyzed by DC-ELISA for qualitative analysis of $AFB_1$. Then, 27 samples that were verified to contain $AFB_1$ by DC-ELISA were quantitated by HPLC/FLD. HPLC/FLD analysis revealed that only one sample collected from a farm contained 11 ppb of $AFB_1$, whereas the other samples collected from feed companies did not contain $AFB_1$. The presence of $AFB_1$ was further confirmed by LC/MS analysis. TLC analysis indicated that the result of the DC-ELISA was most likely due to possible contamination of other mycotoxins rather than $AFB_1$. In conclusion, HPLC/FLD analysis following DC-ELISA is necessary for rapid and accurate detection of $AFB_1$.

• Mycobiology
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.240-254
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• 2017

Cereal grains are the most important food source for humans. As the global population continues to grow exponentially, the need for the enhanced yield and minimal loss of agricultural crops, mainly cereal grains, is increasing. In general, harvested grains are stored for specific time periods to guarantee their continuous supply throughout the year. During storage, economic losses due to reduction in quality and quantity of grains can become very significant. Grain loss is usually the result of its deterioration due to fungal contamination that can occur from preharvest to postharvest stages. The deleterious fungi can be classified based on predominance at different stages of crop growth and harvest that are affected by environmental factors such as water activity ($a_w$) and eco-physiological requirements. These fungi include species such as those belonging to the genera Aspergillus and Penicillium that can produce mycotoxins harmful to animals and humans. The grain type and condition, environment, and biological factors can also influence the occurrence and predominance of mycotoxigenic fungi in stored grains. The main environmental factors influencing grain fungi and mycotoxins are temperature and $a_w$. This review discusses the effects of temperature and $a_w$ on fungal growth and mycotoxin production in stored grains. The focus is on the occurrence and optimum and minimum growth requirements for grain fungi and mycotoxin production. The environmental influence on aflatoxin production and hypothesized mechanisms of its molecular suppression in response to environmental changes are also discussed. In addition, the use of controlled or modified atmosphere as an environmentally safe alternative to harmful agricultural chemicals is discussed and recommended future research issues are highlighted.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.306-310
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• 2013

We compared the efficacy of the competitive ELISA method for measuring the level of urinary aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) with that of the HPLC-fluorescence detector (HPLC-FLD) method. The recovery rate of AFM1 with the ELISA method was 105% (73-124%), and the coefficient of variation of the analysis was 6.85%. The ELISA method showed a 0.20 pg/ml and 0.62 pg/ml limit of detection and limit of quantitation, respectively. In correlation analysis, the two methods showed a very strong and statistically significant correlation (R=0.96, p<0.01). However, in spite of the strong correlation, the ELISA method tended to overestimate the urinary AFM1 concentration compared to the HPLC-FLD method. These results suggest that the competitive ELISA method may be a useful technique for measuring the AFM1 level in high-throughput urine samples, but it needs to be corrected with a regression equation from regression analysis with the HPLC-FLD method.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.75-82
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• 2013

The simultaneous analysis and monitoring of aflatoxin $B_1$, $G_1$, $B_2$, $G_2$ and ochratoxin A in foods were carried out by HPLC with fluorescence detection. The samples were extracted with methanol/water mixture. The extract was centrifuged, diluted with phosphate buffer saline (PBS), filtered, and applied to an immunoaffinity column containing antibodies specific to both aflatoxins and ochratoxin A. After washing the column with PBS and water, the toxins were eluted from the column with methanol, and quantified by HPLC, with a run time of approximately 30 min. The recoveries for aflatoxin $B_1$, $G_1$, $B_2$, $G_2$ and ochratoxin A in foods were 78.4~101.5%, 73.3~102.1%, 81.7~106.7%, 67.0~104.6% and 78.7~120.8%, respectively. The limits of detection of aflatoxins and ochratoxin A ranged from 0.05 to $0.18{\mu}g/kg$. According to monitoring result with the established method, aflatoxin $B_1$ and ochratoxin A were found in 13 of 151 domestic commercial foods. The contamination levels were $0.32{\sim}1.80{\mu}g/kg$ for aflatoxin $B_1$ and $0.97{\mu}g/kg$ for ochratoxin A. Therefore, this study showed all commercial foods monitored were safe under the Korean standards for aflatoxins and ochratoxin A.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 1987

Large amount of aflatoxin $B_1(AFB_1)$ is disappeared in the presence of L-ascorbic acid(AA) in buffer solution at pH values from 1 to 7 during 5 days of Incubation at $37^{\circ}C$. $AFB_1$ was quite stable at pH's between 5 and 7 when AA was absent(control), however, $50{\sim}60%$ of APB, was degraded in its presence after 5 days. The rate of disappearance of $AFB_1$ increased with a decreasing of pH in the presence of AA, even though $AFB_1$ in the control degraded increasingly with the decrease in $pH(pH{\leq}4)$. The level of $AFB_1$, decreased as the reaction temperature increased when $AFB_1$ reacted with AA. The aflatoxin could not be detected at all after 3 days when the reaction occurred at $60^{\circ}C$, while the aflatoxin was stable at $5^{\circ}C$ thoughout the reaction period. $90{\sim}96%$ of $AFB_1$ was found to be degraded in a far when $AFB_1$ reacted with AA plus different concentrations of $CuSO_4{\cdot}5H_{2}O$, showing remarkably faster rate than the control; however, different concentrations of L-cysteine instead of $CuSO_4\;5H_{2}O$ protected the degradation of aflatoxin and no $AFB_1$ was degraded for a day and resulted in less $AFB_1$ disappeared than the control. The degradation of $AFB_1$ was dependent on AA concentration and the rate of disappearance as the concentration of AA decrease, but $AFB_1$ concentration did not influence the rate. The product formed when $AFB_1$ reacted with AA was identified to $AFB_{2a}$ by using HPLC chromatographic examinations, and by UV spectrum of $AFB_1$ reacted with AA. The disappearance of $AFB_1$ was correlated well in the appearance of $AFB_2a$. From the results, the degradation of $AFB_1$ in the presence of AA is probably due to one or more of the oxidative products of AA which was produced during the AA oxidation.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.37-53
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• 1993

F. moniliforme MRC 826, a common fungal contaminant of com, has been known to produce a group of mycotoxins, the fumonisins. By thin layer chromatography, fumonisin $B_{1}$ was detected in the F. moniliforme MRC 826 com culture material(CM) extracts. This study was performed to compare the toxicity and carcinogenicity of F. moniliforme MRC 826 CM with those of aflatoxin $B_1(AFB_1)$ in rats. The toxicity was tested over a period of 7 days in ten female Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. Treatment group were fed a 1 : 1 mixture(wt/wt) of ground CM and basal diet in powder form, while other negative control group were given basal diet alone. The principal pathological changes in rats treated with 50% CM were hepatocellular hydropic degeneration and renal tubular necrosis. The cancer-promoting activity of CM was evaluated in the rat liver diethylnitrosamine-two thirds partial hepatectomy(DEN-PH) model for carcinogenesis. 70 male SO rats(ca. 170 g) were randomized into 5 groups. Group I served as the positive controls and received the basal diet containing 2 ppm $AFB_{1}$ group 2 received 5% CM, group 3 received 2.5% CM, group 4 received 5% normal com and group 5 received 2.5% normal com. 5% treated group showed cancer promoting activity in rat liver using DEN as initiator and the induction of glutathione S-transferase placental form positive foci as an end point after 6 weeks of promotion.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.374-382
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• 2011

Aflatoxin ($AFB_1$) is a potent hepatotoxic and hepatocarcinogenic mycotoxin in humans. It is also well-known to be accumulated in animal tissues via various metabolic pathways. This study was conducted to determine the effects of vitamin C on the residual $AFB_1$ in rat sera that were treated with radiation and $AFB_1$. Six week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into five groups: a control group, $AFB_1$-treated group, the group treated with $AFB_1$ and vitamin C, the group treated with X-ray and AFB1, and the group treated with X-ray and $AFB_1$ with vitamin C. On the first day of the experiment, only one dose of X-rays was exposed to the entire liver at 1,500 cGy. Next, vitamin C was injected at 10 mg/kg body weight via intraperitoneal injection, followed 1 hr later by the administration of 0.4 mg/kg of $AFB_1$ via intraperitoneal injection. These treatments were then administered every three days over a period of 15 days. On the 16th day of treatments, the animals were sacrificed. The contents of $AFB_1$ in rat sera were determined via indirect competitive ELISA and HPLC method. In the quantitative analysis of $AFB_1$ in rat sera via ELISA, $5.17{\pm}0.34$ ng/mL of $AFB_1$ was detected in the $AFB_1$-treated groups, but the amount more significantly decreased to $3.23{\pm}0.76$ ng/mL in the groups treated with $AFB_1$ and vitamin C (p<0.01) than in the $AFB_1$-treated groups. The $AFB_1$ contents of the rat sera of the groups treated with X-ray and $AFB_1$ did not significantly decreased with the administration of vitamin C. The $AFB_1$ content of the rat sera that was analyzed via HPLC showed a tendency similar to that of the content that was analyzed via ELISA. With regard to these data, vitamin C was very effective in reducing $AFB_1$ residue in rat sera.

• BMB Reports
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.105-110
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• 1996

Polyclonal antiserum R101 against aflatoxin $B_1$ ($AFB_1$) was raised in New Zealand white rabbits after injection of bovine serum albumin-$AFB_1$ conjugate. Competitive ELISA (enzyme linked immuno-sorbent assay) demonstrated that antiserum R101 has the highest binding for $AFB_1$ (50% inhibition at 170 fmol) and aflatoxicol II (50% inhibition at 112 fmol). It also reacts with other aflatoxins such as $AFB_2$, $AFG_1$, $AFG_2$, and aflatoxin metabolites ($AFM_1$, $AFM_2$, $AFP_1$, and $AFQ_1$), but it does not cross-react with $AFG_2a$. Using this antiserum, aflatoxins were quantitated in 100 urine samples of undergraduate students at the College of Pharmacy, Sung Kyun Kwan University, Republic of Korea. By ELISA, $AFB_1$ and its metabolites were detected in human urine samples (N=100, male=89, female=11, ages=20~31 yrs) with a range of 1.4~200.6 ng/kg/day (mean$\pm$SD=$18.11{\pm}33.01\;ng\;AFB_1/kg/day$ in males, $3.82{\pm}2.65\;ng/kg/day$ in females). Assuming that urinary excretion is about 7.6% of $AFB_1$ intake (Groopman et al., 1992), we estimated that Koreans were daily exposed to a total dietary $AFB_1$ of $240.20{\pm}438.67\;ng/kg/day$ in males and $50.35{\pm}29.88\;ng/kg/day$ in females, respectively. When the human monitoring data was applied to a linear regression model of Y=21.67X-10.04 {Y=liver cancer incidence per 100,000, X=Log $AFB_1$ intake (ng/kg/day), r=0.99} developed from previously reported epidemiological data, calculated liver cancer incidences attributed to $AFB_1$ exposure were 41.56/100,000 in males and 26.84/100,000 in females. The incidences were similarly correlated with liver cancer mortality rates of 43.43/100,000 in males and 11.23/100,000 in females in Korea. These results suggest that aflatoxin exposure may be an important risk factor for the high incidence of liver cancer in Korea.