Dan L. Brown

A comparative study of the human urinary mycotoxin excretion patterns in Bangladesh, Germany, and Haiti using a rapid and sensitive LC-MS/MS approach

An improved “dilute and shoot” LC-MS/MS multibiomarker approach was used to monitor urinary excretion of 23 mycotoxins and their metabolites in human populations from Asia (Bangladesh), Europe (Germany), and the Caribbean region (Haiti). Deoxynivalenol (DON), deoxynivalenol-3-glucuronide (DON-3-GlcA), T-2-toxin (T-2), HT-2-toxin (HT-2), HT-2-toxin-4-glucuronide (HT-2-4-GlcA), fumonisin B1 (FB1), aflatoxins (AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, AFG2, AFM1), zearalenone (ZEA), zearalanone (ZAN), their urinary metabolites α-zearalanol (α-ZEL) and β-zearalanol (β-ZEL), and corresponding 14-O-glucuronic acid conjugates (ZEA-14-GlcA, ZAN-14-GlcA, β-ZEL, α/β–ZEL-14-GlcA), ochratoxin A (OTA), and ochratoxin alpha (OTα) as well as enniatin B (EnB) and dihydrocitrinone (DH-CIT) were among these compounds. Eight urinary mycotoxin biomarkers were detected (AFM1, DH-CIT, DON, DON-GLcA, EnB, FB1, OTA, and α-ZEL). DON and DON-GlcA were exclusively detected in urines from Germany and Haiti whereas urinary OTA and DH-CIT concentrations were significantly higher in Bangladeshi samples. AFM1 was present in samples from Bangladesh and Haiti only. Exposure was estimated by the calculation of probable daily intakes (PDI), and estimates suggested occasional instances of toxin intakes that exceed established tolerable daily intakes (TDI). The detection of individual mycotoxin exposure by biomarker-based approaches is a meaningful addition to the classical monitoring of the mycotoxin content of the food supply.

Aflatoxin Contamination in Haitian and Kenyan Peanut Butter and Two Solutions for Reducing Such Contamination

All peanut butter samples collected from Haitian and Kenyan grocery stores during 2009 and 2010 were contaminated with aflatoxin. Aflatoxin levels ranged from 7.9 to 799.8 ppb (parts per billion or μg/kg). Hand sorting peanuts in the shell reduced aflatoxin concentrations by 97.72% and should be performed before storage and again on kernels before processing into other food products. Rejected contaminated peanuts can be transformed into cooking briquettes for boiling water on local Haitian low-efficiency stoves. The results from this study inform nutritionists and peanut butter manufacturers of this issue and some intervention strategies that can be used to minimize contamination in communities with limited resources.

Haiti ' s food and drinking water: A review of toxicological health risks

Abstract Context. The Republic of Haiti is a developing country in the Caribbean region with a history that challenges toxicologists, yet the historical panoply of toxicological hazards in Haiti has received little scholarly attention. Objectives. The primary objectives of this paper are to review what is known about Haitis current toxicological hazards, with a focus on chronic food-borne aflatoxin exposure and heavy metal contamination of water resources, and to compare these with previous large-scale, acute exposures to toxic substances: the 1995–1996 diethylene glycol (DEG) intoxications and the 2000–2001 ackee fruit poisonings. Methods. MEDLINE/PUBMED and the library website of Cornell University were searched using the terms “Haiti” and either “heavy metals,” “aflatoxin”, “diethylene glycol”, or “ackee”. The search was inclusive of articles from 1950 to 2012, and 15 out of the 37 returned were peer-reviewed articles offering original data or comprehensive discussion. One peer-reviewed article in press, two newspaper articles, two personal communications, and one book chapter from the personal databases of the authors were also referenced, making a total of 21 citations. Results. Elevated concentrations of aflatoxins (greater than 20 μg/kg) were documented for staples of the Haitian food supply, most notably peanut butters and maize. Human exposure to aflatoxin was confirmed with analysis of aflatoxin blood biomarkers. The implications of aflatoxin exposure were reviewed in the light of Haitis age-adjusted liver cancer risk – the highest in the Caribbean region. Measurement of heavy metals in Port-au-Prince ground water showed contamination of lead and chromium in excess of the US Environmental Protection Agencys 15 μg/L Action Level for lead and 100 μg/L Maximum Contamination Level Goal for total chromium. The DEG contamination of paracetamol (acetaminophen) containing products in 1995–1996 claimed the lives of 109 children and the 2000–2001 epidemic of ackee fruit poisoning resulted in 60 cases of intoxication. Lessons for the Haitian Government. The DEG and ackee epidemics overwhelmed local Haitian public health resources. Yet, periods of 8 and 4 months, respectively, passed before the Haitian government sought assistance following the initial poisonings. To our knowledge, the Haitian government did not enact policy to promote drug safety and prevent future poisonings. This will not likely change in the near future because of the states finance and personnel crises. While protection of its people remains the prerogative of the Haitian government, it is extremely limited in managing chemical exposure to environmental toxins, including aflatoxin and heavy metals. Conclusions: The cases of DEG and ackee fruit poisoning demonstrate that environmental exposures to chemicals have occurred in Haiti. Current low-level exposures to aflatoxin and heavy metals highlight the risk that large-scale poisonings can occur. While awareness of toxicological hazards in Haiti must be acknowledged more widely within the government and non-governmental sectors, the lessons of these exposures are relevant to all developing countries where the capacity to discern and manage toxicological risks is absent or not yet effective.

Phenolics, Sugars, Antimicrobial and Free-Radical-Scavenging Activities of Melicoccus bijugatus Jacq. Fruits from the Dominican Republic and Florida

Edible fruits of the native South American tree Melicoccus bijugatus Jacq. are consumed fresh or in traditional food, drink and medicinal preparations. Some therapeutic effects of these fruits may be due to phenolics and sugars. Aqueous acetone, methanol or ethanol tissue extracts of different cultivars or collections of M. bijugatus fruits from the Dominican Republic and Florida were analyzed for total phenolics and free radical scavenging activity by UV-vis spectroscopy, sugars by gas chromatography, and antimicrobial activity by the disc diffusion assay. Total phenolics and free radical scavenging activities ranked: seed coat > embryo > pulp extracts. Montgomery cultivar fruits had the highest total phenolics. For sugars: pulp > embryo and highest in Punta Cana fruit pulp. In all extracts: sucrose > glucose and fructose. Glucose:fructose ratios were 1:1 (pulp) and 0.2:1 (embryo). Pulp extracts had dose-response antibacterial activity and pulp and embryo extracts had antifungal activity against one yeast species. Phenolics and sugars were confirmed with thin-layer chromatography and nuclear magnetic resonance. Sugar-free pulp fractions containing phenolics had slightly more antimicrobial activity than H2O-soluble pulp fractions with sugars. Results indicate M. bijugatus fruits contain phenolics, sugars and other H2O-soluble compounds consistent with therapeutic uses.

Efficacy of Chenopodium ambrosioides as an antihelmintic for treatment of gastrointestinal nematodes in lambs.

ABSTRACT This study examined the potential efficacy of Chenopodium ambrosioides as a vermifuge in lambs, testing both the essential oil and dried plant tissue. Oral administration of the oil produced no toxic effects of importance, although the active ingredient, ascaridole, was observed in the blood. A significant reduction in the number of Trichostrongyle eggs per gram of feces was observed in treated lambs as compared with control lambs, but treated lambs did continue to shed eggs in feces. Feed intake of lambs fed dried plants was significantly less than that of control lambs apparently due to an aversion to the odor of the plants and the unusual nature of the plant material as presented.

Canavanine-induced longevity in mice may require diets with greater than 15.7% protein

BackgroundDietary administration of 1% canavanine had been shown to improve survival in female BALB/c mice consuming diets containing 23.4% protein (dry matter basis).MethodsIn order to determine if this effect also obtains at more moderate dietary protein concentrations, 30 female BALB/c mice were fed a basal diet with 14% protein (15.7% dry matter basis) and another 30 were fed the same diet plus 1% canavanine.ResultsNeither mean (Control 873.2 d, Canavanine 870.0 d; SEM = 34.2 d; P = 0.949 from ANOVA) nor median (Control 902 d, Canavanine 884.5 d; P = 0.9058 from Mann-Whitney) lifespans differed between groups.Although mean antinuclear antibody (ANA) titers did not differ between control and canavanine-treated mice at 833 days of age (19.84 vs 20.39 respectively; SEM = 2.64; P = 0.889 from ANOVA), one canavanine-treated mouse displayed an outlying ANA value of 50 (next lower value = 30) denoting possible early sign of incipient autoimmune disease in that individual.ConclusionThere may be an interaction between dietary protein level and canavanine with respect to lifespan in mice.

Aflatoxin–Lysine Adducts in Haitian Patients Ingesting Peanut and Maize Products

Aflatoxins are mycotoxins mainly produced by the fungi Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus. As the major contaminants of peanuts and maize, aflatoxins are causative agents of liver cancer and are associated with immune dysfunction, stunting, and protein deficiency syndromes. Aflatoxins are known to contaminate maize and peanut-based foods in Haiti. Patients at GHESKIO clinic in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, provided blood samples and participated in a dietary survey. Blood samples were analyzed for aflatoxin covalently bound to blood albumin through lysine. Data were analyzed using nominal logistic models, least-squares regression, and analysis of variance (ANOVA). Detection of AFB1-lysine above 0.25 pg AFB1-lysine/mg albumin was dependent upon frequency of peanut consumption (FP; P < .0486) but not frequency of maize consumption (FM), and a nominal logistic model demonstrated that detection was positively associated with FP. In a least squares regression model, the effect of FP was significantly predictive of log-transformed AFB1-lysine above 0.25 pg/mg. All 12 of the individuals with detectible circulating aflatoxin biomarkers who had not eaten peanuts had eaten maize or maize products. Peanuts were not the sole source of aflatoxins in the diet of these individuals and maize cannot be ruled out as a contributor of dietary aflatoxin in Haiti.

Urinary aflatoxin M1 in Port-au-Prince and a rural community in north-east Haiti

ABSTRACT Aflatoxins (AFs) are hepatocarcinogenic mycotoxins that can contaminate grains and oil seeds in tropical and sub-tropical areas and have been detected in maize and peanut products of Haiti. The first objective was to assess human exposure to AFs among Haitians at an urban hospital (GHESKIO) and a rural health centre (HCBH). The second objective was to test the association between AF exposure and reported dietary intake of potentially contaminated foods, such as maize, peanut products and milk. Measurement of urinary AFM1 by HPLC revealed that among 367 participants 14% and 22% at GHESKIO and HCBH, respectively, had detectable AFM1. The maximum and median AFM1 concentrations for all detected samples were 700 pg AFM1 ml–1 and 11.7 pg ml–1, respectively. Detection of AFM1 was significantly associated with peanut consumption (p < 0.05). Controlling for diet and age group in a logit model, patients who reported peanut consumption the day of the survey and patients from HCBH had greater log odds of excreting detectable AFM1 (p < 0.001 and 0.002, respectively); females had lower log odds (p = 0.020). Recalled frequency of consuming non-dairy animal-sourced foods, an indicator of diet quality, approached significance (p = 0.056) as an inverse predictor of urinary AFM1 detection. The findings augur the need for interventions that will improve food safety in Haiti and limit exposure to AFs, particularly among rural communities.

Medicinal plants used to treat livestock ailments in Honduras

ABSTRACT Livestock owners, veterinarians, and non-government extension agents were interviewed using participatory techniques to identify medicinal plants used to treat livestock ailments and to assist in prioritizing plants for further testing for medical applications. A total of 21 plants were identified as useful in treating ailments. Of these plants, 17 are known to be biologically active or to contain biologically active compounds. Most respondents considered the use of medicinal plants to be acceptable, but some respondents believed plant treatments were slower acting than synthetic drugs. Other reported drawbacks to medicinal plant treatments were the time required to make the plant medical preparations and the difficulty in treating large livestock.

Balancing selection for aflatoxin in Aspergillus flavus is maintained through interference competition with, and fungivory by insects

The role of microbial secondary metabolites in the ecology of the organisms that produce them remains poorly understood. Variation in aflatoxin production by Aspergillus flavus is maintained by balancing selection, but the ecological function and impact on fungal fitness of this compound are unknown. We hypothesize that balancing selection for aflatoxin production in A. flavus is driven by interaction with insects. To test this, we competed naturally occurring aflatoxigenic and non-aflatoxigenic fungal isolates against Drosophila larvae on medium containing 0–1750 ppb aflatoxin, using quantitative PCR to quantify A. flavus DNA as a proxy for fungal fitness. The addition of aflatoxin across this range resulted in a 26-fold increase in fungal fitness. With no added toxin, aflatoxigenic isolates caused higher mortality of Drosophila larvae and had slightly higher fitness than non-aflatoxigenic isolates. Additionally, aflatoxin production increased an average of 1.5-fold in the presence of a single larva and nearly threefold when the fungus was mechanically damaged. We argue that the role of aflatoxin in protection from fungivory is inextricably linked to its role in interference competition. Our results, to our knowledge, provide the first clear evidence of a fitness advantage conferred to A. flavus by aflatoxin when interacting with insects.