Mycotoxins’ toxicological mechanisms involving humans, livestock and their associated health concerns: a review

Abstract

Mycotoxins are well established toxic metabolic entities produced when fungi invade agricultural/farm produce, and this happens especially when the conditions are favourable. Exposure to mycotoxins can directly take place via the consumption of infected foods and feeds; humans can also be indirectly exposed from consuming animals fed with infected feeds. Among the hundreds of mycotoxins known to humans, around a handful have drawn the most concern because of their occurrence in food and severe effects on human health. The increasing public health importance of mycotoxins across human and livestock environments mandates the continued review of the relevant literature, especially with regard to understanding their toxicological mechanisms. In particular, our analysis of recently conducted reviews showed that the toxicological mechanisms of mycotoxins deserve additional attention to help provide enhanced understanding regarding this subject matter. For this reason, this current work reviewed the mycotoxins’ toxicological mechanisms involving humans, livestock, and their associated health concerns. In particular, we have deepened our understanding about how the mycotoxins’ toxicological mechanisms impact on the human cellular genome. Along with the significance of mycotoxin toxicities and their toxicological mechanisms, there are associated health concerns arising from exposures to these toxins, including DNA damage, kidney damage, DNA/RNA mutations, growth impairment in children, gene modifications, and immune impairment. More needs to be done to enhance the understanding regards the mechanisms underscoring the environmental implications of mycotoxins, which can be actualized via risk assessment studies into the conditions/factors facilitating mycotoxins’ toxicities.