title: Aflatoxins: biosynthesis, occurrence, toxicity, and remedies.
abstract: Food contagion with aflatoxins is the modern concern and has received a great awareness during the last few decades. The intermittent incidence of these toxins in agricultural commodities has negative role on the economy of the affected regions where harvest and postharvest techniques for the prevention of mold growth, are seldom practiced. Aflatoxins are difuranocoumarin derivatives produced by a polyketide pathway by the fungus Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus via polyketide pathway which are highly hepatotoxic, hepatocarcinogenic, teratogenic, and mutagenic in nature and contaminate a wide variety of important agricultural commodities before, during, and after harvest in various environmental conditions. The production of aflatoxins in innate substrates depends upon the various factors, that is, type of substrate, fungal species, moisture contents of the substrate, minerals, humidity, temperature, and physical damage of the kernels. These toxins cause several ailments such as cancer, hepatitis, mutation abnormalities, and reproduction disorders. Minimization and inactivation of aflatoxins contaminants through proper crop management at farm level and with physical, chemical, and biological techniques are the limelight of the article.
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Food Science & Technology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Muhammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abrar
authors.forename: Faqir Muhammad
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Anjum
authors.forename: Masood Sadiq
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Butt
authors.forename: Imran
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Pasha
authors.forename: Muhammad Atif
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Randhawa
authors.forename: Farhan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Saeed
authors.forename: Khalid
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Waqas
mesh_terms: D000348:Aflatoxins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000633:toxicity; D000818:Animals; D001231:Aspergillus flavus / Q000378:metabolism; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D005516:Food Microbiology; D059022:Food Safety; D006505:Hepatitis / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D006813:Humidity; D009154:Mutation / Q000187:drug effects; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D012098:Reproduction / Q000187:drug effects; D013696:Temperature; D014480:United Nations / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D014944:World Health Organization
chemical_list: D000348:Aflatoxins