Mycotoxins in Food, Feed and Bioweapons
Mycotoxins are made by different biosynthetic pathways, and they have an extremely wide range of pharmacological effects. This book will update readers on several cutting-edge aspects of mycotoxin research, including topics such as: new analytical methods
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Mahendra Rai
l
Ajit Varma
Editors
Mycotoxins in Food, Feed and Bioweapons
Editors Mahendra Rai, Ph.D. Professor and Head Biotechnology Department SGB Amravati University Amravati-444 602 Maharashtra India [email protected]
Professor Dr. Ajit Varma Director General Amity Institute of Microbial Technology Amity University Uttar Pradesh & Vice Chairman Amity Science, Technology & Innovation Foundation Block A, Amity Campus, Sector 125 Noida, UP 201303 India [email protected]
ISBN 978-3-642-00724-8 e-ISBN 978-3-642-00725-5 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-00725-5 Springer Heidelberg Dordrecht London New York Library of Congress Control Number: 2009929167 # Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2010 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilm or in any other way, and storage in data banks. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the German Copyright Law of September 9, 1965, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer. Violations are liable to prosecution under the German Copyright Law. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. Cover design: WMXDesign GmbH, Heidelberg, Germany Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)
Foreword
Mycotoxins are a large and varied group of mold-secondary metabolites. Their common features are that they are all produced by fungi, and that they all have toxic effects against vertebrates and other organisms. Nevertheless, it is hard to generalize about mycotoxins. They are made by different biosynthetic pathways, and they have an extremely wide range of pharmacological effects. Human beings and domestic animals come in contact with them by different routes (diet, dermal contact, respiration); the fungi which produce them occupy different ecological niches, and they span a wide range of important fungal genera (Aspergillus, Fusarium, Penicillium and many others). Even the definition of “mycotoxin” is a matter of dispute. Not everyone includes zearalenone and the yeast killer toxins — both discussed in this monograph — within the mycotoxin rubric. Zearalenone, although biologically potent as an estrogen mimic, is not particularly toxic in the traditional sense of causing death. Yeast killer toxins are neither mold metabolites nor viewed as particularly poisonous environmental agents. They are best known for their use in biotyping and as immunological derivatives. Nevertheless, while experts differ about which compounds should be classified appropriately as mycotoxins, everyone agrees that mycotoxins impose an enormous econom
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