Mycotoxicoses “by proxy”

Abstract

Health hazards due to the ingestion of certain mouldy foods have already been recognised. Less well known is the possibility that mycotoxins can be present in such products as milk, eggs, meat etc., which though not mouldy per se derive from animals that consumed feeds contaminated by secondary toxic metabolities of microorganisms.

Our knowledge of the extent to which such “mycotoxicoses by proxy” could be responsible for certain disorders considered “spontaneous” or “idiopathic” is fragmentary; appropriate investigations are urgently needed.

Evidence presented in this paper indicates that the use of livestock feeds contaminated by microorganisms producing mycotoxins, such as the oestrogenic zearalenone and its congeners, aflatoxins, ochratoxins etc., may present health hazards to man, as they pass into the milk and tissues of the animals. The susceptible young for whom milk is the main food are particularly vulnerable to mycotoxins “by proxy”. Attention is drawn to the possibility that such animal products may contain besides the parent compounds, some biologically active metabolites of mycotoxins, which though not detectable by the usual chemical tests, could contribute their potential for ill effects. These could be detected by appropriate testing in experimental animals.