Development of a microcantilever-based immunosensing method for mycotoxin detection.

Mycotoxins, such as aflatoxins and ochratoxin A, are presently considered as the most important chronic dietary risk factor, more than food additives or pesticide residues. Therefore, the serious health and economic consequences of mycotoxin contamination have created the need for rapid, sensitive, and reliable techniques to detect such dangerous molecules within foodstuffs. We here report on the development of an innovative immunosensing method for mycotoxin detection, based on antibody-immobilized microcantilever resonators, a promising label free biosensing technique.

Ochratoxigenic black species of Aspergilli in grape fruits of northern Italy identified by an improved PCR-RFLP procedure.

A collection of 356 isolates of Aspergillus spp. collected during 2006 and 2007 from grapevines in northern Italy were identified through Internal Transcribed Spacer based Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (ITS-RFLP) and tested for ochratoxin A (OTA) production. Restriction endonuclease digestion of the ITS products using the endonucleases HhaI, HinfI and RsaI, distinguished five different RFLPs.

Potential of patulin production by Penicillium expansum strains on various fruits.

In this study, we investigated the pathogenicity and patulin production by ten strains of Penicillium expansum on various fruits (apples, apricots, kiwis, plums and peaches) at two (4°C and 25°C) different temperature regimes. All strains caused the infectious rots on all fruits at 4 and 25°C except one strain (PEX 09) at 4°C. Two strains (PEX 20 and PEX 12) out of ten produced the highest amounts of patulin on all fruits tested.

Low levels of ochratocin A in wines from Piedmont.

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a mycotoxin mainly produced by a number of species of Aspergillus, commonly found in warm and tropical climates. OTA poses risks for the human health because of its nephrotoxic, teratogenic, immunotoxic and neurotoxic activity. The mycotoxin, classified as possible human carcinogen (Group 2B) by the IARC, naturally occurs in a wide range of foods, including wine, where the main producer is A.