title: Masked mycotoxins: a review.
abstract: The aim of this review is to give a comprehensive overview of the current knowledge on plant metabolites of mycotoxins, also called masked mycotoxins. Mycotoxins are secondary fungal metabolites, toxic to human and animals. Toxigenic fungi often grow on edible plants, thus contaminating food and feed. Plants, as living organisms, can alter the chemical structure of mycotoxins as part of their defence against xenobiotics. The extractable conjugated or non-extractable bound mycotoxins formed remain present in the plant tissue but are currently neither routinely screened for in food nor regulated by legislation, thus they may be considered masked. Fusarium mycotoxins (deoxynivalenol, zearalenone, fumonisins, nivalenol, fusarenon-X, T-2 toxin, HT-2 toxin, fusaric acid) are prone to metabolisation or binding by plants, but transformation of other mycotoxins by plants (ochratoxin A, patulin, destruxins) has also been described. Toxicological data are scarce, but several studies highlight the potential threat to consumer safety from these substances. In particular, the possible hydrolysis of masked mycotoxins back to their toxic parents during mammalian digestion raises concerns. Dedicated chapters of this article address plant metabolism as well as the occurrence of masked mycotoxins in food, analytical aspects for their determination, toxicology and their impact on stakeholders.
authors.affiliation: Christian Doppler Laboratory for Mycotoxin Metabolism, Department for Agrobiotechnology IFA-Tulln, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, Tulln, Austria.
authors.forename: Franz
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Berthiller
authors.forename: Colin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Crews
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dall'Asta
authors.forename: Sarah De
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Saeger
authors.forename: Geert
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Haesaert
authors.forename: Petr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Karlovsky
authors.forename: Isabelle P
authors.initials: IP
authors.lastname: Oswald
authors.forename: Walburga
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Seefelder
authors.forename: Gerrit
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Speijers
authors.forename: Joerg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stroka
mesh_terms: D000821:Animal Feed / Q000382:microbiology / Q000633:toxicity; D000818:Animals; D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis; D005511:Food Handling / Q000379:methods; D005516:Food Microbiology; D005670:Fusarium / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D009183:Mycotoxins / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D010944:Plants / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D009183:Mycotoxins