Introduction
As a life-threatening fungal toxin, aflatoxin causes the severe damage of the human health and may lead to the development of cancer in the case of its excessive consumption. This presentation is dedicated to the origin of aflatoxin and its influence.
Aflatoxin
Aflatoxin is a life-threatening toxin produced by certain fungal species that may be found on particular agricultural crops. These crops traditionally include peanuts, corn, tree nuts, and cotton seeds (National Cancer Institute, 2018). Derived predominantly from Aspergillus flavus, A. parasiticus, and A. nomius, aflatoxin may contaminate crops during growth, harvest, storage, and processing (Ghakal & Sbar, 2022; Kumar et al., 2017).
Toxicity
The consumption of the large doses of aflatoxin may cause aflatoxicosis, or acute poisoning, that primarily affects the liver. The mechanism of its toxicity implies the non-specific though widespread interactions between its activated metabolites and cell protein that cause the severe disruption of protein synthesis, metabolic processes, and cell death.
Sources and Symptoms
The main sources of aflatoxin are crops that may be contaminated either during development and growth or storage and transportation due to inappropriate conditions, such as severe drought or excessive humidity. At the same time, aflatoxin may pass through milk, meat, and eggs of animals if they receive contaminated food. The main symptoms of aflatoxicosis are fever, vomiting, nausea, jaundice, abdominal pain, convulsions, hepatomegaly, and hemorrhagic diathesis (“Aflatoxicosis,” n.d.).
Cancer
The consumption of aflatoxin may be regarded as the main factor of hepatocellular carcinoma’s occurrence. Being a hepatotoxic and genotoxic, aflatoxin induces DNA adducts causing genetic changes that target liver cells (McGlynn et al., 2021).
Summary
Aflatoxin is fungal toxin that may be found in crops or animals’ products in the case of contaminated food’s consumption. The excessive doses of aflatoxin may lead to acute poisoning reflected in vomiting, fever, nausea, and the signs of liver injury. In addition, aflatoxin causes genetic changes that contribute to the development of hepatocellular carcinoma.
References
Aflatoxicosis. (n.d.). Web.
Dhakal, A., & Sbar, E. (2022). Aflatoxin toxicity. StatPearls. Web.
Kumar, P., Mahato, D. K., Kamle, M., Mohanta, T. K., & Kang, S. G. (2017). Aflatoxins: A global concern for food safety, human health and their management. Frontiers in Microbiology, 7(2170), 1-10. Web.
McGlynn, K. A., Petrick, J. L., & El‐Serag, H. B. (2021). Epidemiology of hepatocellular carcinoma. Hepatology, 73, 4-13. Web.
National Cancer Institute. (2018). Aflatoxins. National Cancer Institute. Web.