Aflatoxin M1 in Africa: Exposure Assessment, Regulations, and Prevention Strategies - A Review.

Aflatoxins are the most harmful mycotoxins causing health problems to human and animal. Many acute aflatoxin outbreaks have been reported in Africa, especially in Kenya and Tanzania. When ingested, aflatoxin B1 is converted by hydroxylation in the liver into aflatoxin M1, which is excreted in milk of dairy females and in urine of exposed populations.

Characterization of filamentous fungi isolated from Moroccan olive and olive cake: toxinogenic potential of Aspergillus strains.

During the 2003 and 2004 olive oil production campaigns in Morocco, 136 samples from spoiled olive and olive cake were analyzed and 285 strains were isolated in pure culture. Strains included 167 mesophilic strains belonging to ten genera: Penicillium, Aspergillus, Geotrichum, Mucor, Rhizopus, Trichoderma, Alternaria, Acremonium, Humicola, Ulocladium as well as 118 thermophilic strains isolated in 2003 and 2004, mainly belonging to six species: Aspergillus fumigatus, Paecilomyces variotii, Mucor pusillus, Thermomyces lanuginosus, Humicola grisea, and Thermoascus aurantiacus. Penicillium and Aspergillus, respectively, 32.

Production of Toxic Metabolites by Penicillium italicum and P. digitatum Isolated from Citrus Fruits.

Ninety-six mold isolates were obtained from naturally rotten citrus fruits. Among them, forty were identified as Penicillium italicum and twenty-four as P. digitatum .

Method to Study Antimicrobial Effects of Essential Oils: Application to the Antifungal Activity of Six Moroccan Essences.

The Micro-atmosphere method of Kellner and Kober was modified and used to study antifungal properties of six essential oils that have different chemical compositions (three chemotypes from mugwort, Artemisia herba alba , one from thyme, Thymus capitatus , one from rosemary, Romarinus officinalis and one from Eucalyptus, Eucalyptus globulus ). They were tested against 39 mold strains (13 from the genus Penicillium , nine from Aspergillus and 17 others). The essential oil from thyme was the most effective, suscessively followed by those from mugwort, rosemary and eucalyptus.