Mycotoxins, Their Metabolites (Free, Emerging, and Masked), Food Safety Concerns, and Health Impacts.

The genus produces a number of mycotoxins of diverse chemical structures. Fusariotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by toxigenic fungi of the genus . The important and commonly encountered fusariotoxins are trichothecenes, fumonisins, and zearalenone. mycotoxins pose varying toxicities to humans and/or animals after consumption of contaminated grain. They can cause acute or chronic illness and, in some cases, death. For instance, a range of mycotoxins can alter different intestinal defense mechanisms, such as the epithelial integrity, cell proliferation, mucus layer, immunoglobulins, and cytokine production. Of recent concern is the occurrence of emerging and masked mycotoxins in agricultural commodities, which may contribute to toxic health effects, although the metabolic fate of masked mycotoxins still remains a matter of scientific discussion. These mycotoxins have attracted attention worldwide because of their impact on human and animal health, animal productivity, and the associated economic losses. In this paper, we review mycotoxins and their metabolites with the aim of summarizing the baseline information on the types, occurrence, and health impacts of these mycotoxins in order to encourage much-needed research on integrated management of this unavoidable food contaminant as concerns for food safety continues to grow worldwide.