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Chronic and Acute Toxicities of Aflatoxins: Mechanisms of Action
Version 1
: Received: 23 December 2019 / Approved: 25 December 2019 / Online: 25 December 2019 (03:07:58 CET)
How to cite: Benkerroum, N. Chronic and Acute Toxicities of Aflatoxins: Mechanisms of Action. Preprints 2019, 2019120327 Benkerroum, N. Chronic and Acute Toxicities of Aflatoxins: Mechanisms of Action. Preprints 2019, 2019120327
Abstract
There are presently more than 18 known aflatoxins (>18) most of which have been insufficiently studied for their incidence, health-risk, and mechanisms of toxicity to allow effective intervention and control means that would significantly and sustainably reduce their incidence and adverse effects on health and economy. Among these, aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) has by far been the most studied; and yet, many aspects of the range and mechanisms of the diseases it causes remain to be elucidated. Its mutagenicity, tumorigenicity, and carcinogenicity, which are the best known still suffer from many limitations regarding the relative contribution of the oxidative stress and the reactive epoxide derivative (Aflatoxin-exo 8,9-epoxide) in the induction of the diseases, as well as its metabolic and synthesis pathways. Additionally, despite the well-established additive effects for carcinogenicity between AFB1 and other risk factors, e.g., hepatitis viruses B and C, and the algal hepatotoxic microcystins, the mechanisms of this synergy remain unclear. This study reviews the most recent advances in the mechanisms of toxicity of aflatoxins and the adverse health effects that they cause in humans and animals.
Keywords
aflatoxins; tumorigenicity; carcinogenicity; acute toxicity; immunogenicity; genotoxicity
Subject
Biology and Life Sciences, Immunology and Microbiology
Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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