Contamination of Mycotoxins In Food Ingredients And Foods That Worsen Immune System During Pandemic of the Covid 19

Contamination of Mycotoxins In Food Ingredients And Foods That Worsen Immune System During Pandemic of the Covid 19

Agus Selamet Duniaji*)

Mycotoxins are poisons or toxins produced by fungi, which in some situations, can develop in foods derived from plants or animals. Aspergillus sp, Fusarium sp, and Penicillium sp are the most common types of fungi that produce toxic mycotoxins and often contaminate human food and animal feed. The mushrooms grow on food or feed, both before and during harvest or when storage is not appropriate. high doses, mycotoxins produce acute symptoms and death, but at lower doses, mycotoxins do not produce clinically significant symptoms for public health. Some mycotoxins have carcinogenic, immunosuppressive, neurotoxic, estrogenic or teratogenic activity

The importance of mycotoxins

People around the world generally believe that natural products are safe products for consumption. However, contamination of food or animal feed from natural biotoxins produced by microbes can cause disease outbreaks. Among some microbes, mold is considered important because of its very broad distribution. Mold can spread, colonize and can produce mycotoxins either before harvest (in the fields) or in the post-harvest stage (storage, transportation and processing). Poor treatment at harvest, drying, packaging and storage, as well as inadequate transportation conditions contribute to mold growth and increase the risk of mycotoxin production. Colonies of mold are able to produce poisons that can affect the health of humans and livestock when the products consumed are contaminated with molds and the poisons it produces

Mycotoxins are invisible, odorless and cannot be detected by smell or taste, but can significantly reduce livestock production performance (Binder 2007). Mycotoxins affect agricultural economies in various countries, disrupt trade, reduce livestock production and affect human health.

Mycotoxins are important and dangerous because they can interfere with animal and human health. Exposure to certain mycotoxins in food and drinks is very dangerous to the health of animals and humans who consume them. Mycotoxins are a group of toxic chemicals that are produced by fungi / mold which usually grow on a number of plants. Mycotoxins can be produced before the harvesting process and can increase dramatically after harvesting if the post-harvest conditions are favorable for further fungal growth. Exposure to mycotoxins in humans can occur directly through the consumption of food from agricultural products contaminated with mycotoxins such as corn, rice and wheat, as well as from the production of livestock such as milk

Mycotoxin Contamination in Food Ingredients and Products

Food is a source of energy needed by humans and animals to carry out their lives. Food has a function to maintain the continuity of life and to keep living beings healthy physically and mentally. However, food can be a source of disease if it does not meet the criteria of good, healthy, and safe food. The quality of food consumed can affect the quality of life and behavior of living things themselves. The quality of food or food ingredients in nature is inseparable from various influences such as conditions and the environment, which makes it feasible or not for food to be consumed. Various pollutants can be contained in food due to the use of contaminated food raw materials, processing, and storage processes. Among the contaminants that are often found are mycotoxins produced by molds (fungi). During storage of food is very easily overgrown by mold. Indonesia's tropical climate with high rainfall, temperature and humidity strongly supports the growth of mycotoxin-producing fungi. Mycotoxin contamination not only decreases food / feed quality and affects economic value, but also endangers human and animal health. Various diseases can be caused by mycotoxins, such as liver cancer caused by aflatoxin, one of the most common types of mycotoxins found in tropical countries. Due to the invisible contamination of mycotoxins, especially in processed foods, caution is needed in choosing foods, especially food or processed foods that have been stored for a long time. It is estimated that between 25 and 50% of all agricultural commodities, mainly cereal crops (sources of feed and feed ingredients), are contaminated by mycotoxins. Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is the most common mycotoxin and contaminates various agricultural commodities used for food and feed, which is 75%. It was also reported that storage time had a very significant effect on mold contamination in feed so that it would reduce its quality. Contamination of mold in feed can damage the structure of the feed during storage both physically, chemically and biologically. Thus, mold contamination can be a problem for feed safety, reduce palability and loss of nutritional value. In addition, feed can be contaminated with toxic secondary metabolites (mycotoxins) produced by these molds. In general, mycotoxins have a relatively large molecular arrangement and are chemically very stable (WHO 1978; Schiefer 1990), once formed they will continue to contaminate feed ingredients and also feed

Mycotoxins are a group of toxic chemicals that are produced by fungi / mold which usually grow on a number of plants. Mycotoxins can be produced before the harvesting process and can increase dramatically after harvesting if the post-harvest conditions are favorable for further fungal growth. Exposure to mycotoxins in humans can occur directly through the consumption of food from agricultural products contaminated with mycotoxins such as corn, rice and wheat, as well as from the production of livestock such as milk.

At a joint meeting between the Food Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) at the Conference on Mycotoxins in Nairobi, Kenya in 1977, a statement was made that health problems resulting from toxin poisoning from molds would become one group of non-communicable diseases that is relevant and potential in developing countries in the future. From the conference, seven types of mycotoxins were determined that needed attention, namely aflatoxin, zearalenon, okratoksin, trichotene, cytrinine, patulin, and penicillic acid. Three (3) of the mycotoxins were the biggest problems in Indonesia, namely aflatoxin, zearalenon and okratoxin. The symptoms or diseases caused as a result of consuming mycotoxin-contaminated food are called mycotoxicosis.

Indonesia as a tropical country with high humidity is an area that is ideal for mold growth, especially mycotoxin-producing fungi. Factors such as handling both pre-harvest and post-harvest, storage, and distribution of post-harvest agricultural commodities that do not pay attention to cleanliness and hygiene can support the growth of toxin-producing microbes that can threaten human and livestock health. Therefore proper handling of both from the pre-harvest to the hands of consumers needs to be taken to minimize mycotoxin exposure in humans and animals.

Agricultural commodities such as beans, corn and other cereals are polluted with mycotoxin-producing fungi. However, subtropical fruits and their processed products are also potential substrates for mycotoxin mold growth. Unlike cereals, fruits have a higher water content and are more easily damaged. Miskiyah et al. (2010) estimated the economic losses caused by damage to fruit by bacteria and mold reaching 58 million dollars a year. Mycotoxins are known as contaminants during storage, but mycotoxins can contaminate material both before harvest (pre-harvest contamination) and after harvest (post-harvest contamination). Pre-harvest contamination can occur due to soil temperatures over 25 ° C and the number of mold inoculums in the soil. The lack of postharvest management and storage conditions and the presence of insects are factors causing contamination after harvest. The presence of mycotoxin contamination in food and feed develops the issue of global food security, which causes low yields and economic losses. Consumption of mycotoxin contaminated feed in addition to a direct impact on animal health but also the potential for carrying over mycotoxins and their metabolites to livestock products including milk Some animal feed ingredients that contain high energy which are easily contaminated with mycotoxins, among others, are derived from grains, namely corn, rice bran. Wheat. Besides that, contamination in plantation and agricultural waste materials includes peanut meal, copra cake and cotton seed meal. These feed ingredients are often used to arrange concentrates for ruminant animal feed as an energy source

Mycotoxins and Covid 19 Immune Deficiency

Mycotoxin poisoning in livestock can be caused by two sources, namely: (1) Molds that grow on forages / plants, usually occurs when animals graze / consume forages; (2) Mold growing on grains used as a source of feed or feed ingredients. Bryden (1998) has published various genus of mycotoxin-producing fungi from various forages and seeds and the resulting disturbance

Mycotoxins can be carcinogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic, nephrotoxic, diuresis, hemorrhagic, estrogenic, and immunosuppressive (reducing immunity). Mycotoxin toxicity differs from one type of mycotoxin to another. The negative effects of mycotoxins on health depend on concentration, route and duration of exposure, species, age and sex, nutritional status and hormones, individual sensitivity, and synergistic effects of various mycotoxins that are simultaneously present in food. In addition, differences in chemical, biological, and toxicological properties of each type of mycotoxin cause different toxic effects.

At high doses, mycotoxins produce acute symptoms and death, but at lower doses, mycotoxins do not produce clinically significant symptoms for public health. Some mycotoxins have carcinogenic, immunosuppressive, neurotoxic, estrogenic or teratogenic activity

According to experts around 25-50 percent of agricultural commodities are contaminated with these five types of mycotoxins. Diseases caused by mycotoxin exposure are called mycotoxicosis. The different chemical, biological, and toxicological properties of each mycotoxin cause different toxic effects. In addition, this toxicity is also determined by: (1) the dose or amount of mycotoxins consumed; (2) exposure routes; (3) duration of exposure; (4) species; (5) age; (6) gender; (7) physiological, health and nutritional status; and (8) synergistic effects of various mycotoxins which are simultaneously present in food

Mycotoxin toxicity depends on several factors such as dose, route of exposure, duration of exposure, species, age, sex, physiological status (health and nutrition), and the synergistic effects of various mycotoxins in food. Mycotoxins are generally accumulative in nature, so their effects cannot be felt quickly and are difficult to prove etiologically. Another problem is that food contamination cannot be seen so it is not easy to indicate that a food has been contaminated with mycotoxins except by conducting laboratory analysis. However, mycotoxin contamination can be indicated by the appearance of fungus infestation even though the growth of fungus is not always identical to mycotoxin production because mycotoxin is produced under certain conditions.

A food can have several species of fungus that produce several types of mycotoxins that interact with each other and strengthen each other's level of toxicity (synergistic effect). For this reason, it is necessary to increase vigilance in choosing food or processed foods to be consumed and not to consume foods that have expired or are stored for too long.

The entry of chemicals into the body can be through various contacts, namely: 1). Swallowing: chemicals are toxic if ingested can result in the digestive and systemic channels. Example: drug overdose, pesticides, 2). Inhalation: poisons that enter the respiratory tract can irritate the upper and lower respiratory tract, resulting in systemic absorption and poisoning, for example: CO inhalation, chlorine gas, benzene vapor and CCl4, dust, 3). Injection: poisons enter the body through intravenous, intramuscular, intracutaneous, or intradermal effects which cause systemic effects, local irritation, and necrosis, 4). Topical through the eye: the entry of toxins has a specific effect on the eye and can cause local irritation. Example: acids and bases., 5). Topical through the skin: ingestion of toxins has a local irritant effect but can result in systemic poisoning. Example: organophosphate pesticides, caustic soda

After the body absorbs the chemicals in the ways above, the chemicals are distributed. Organic chemicals can penetrate brain organs, while inorganic chemicals are buried in the kidneys. Fat-soluble materials such as DDT, dieldrin, and PCB will be buried in fat tissue. Chemicals are excreted in the form of origin or metabolites through the kidneys (main), liver, and lungs.

Corona virus or severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a virus that attacks the respiratory system. This disease caused by a viral infection is called COVID-19. Corona virus can cause mild disturbances to the respiratory system, severe lung infections, to death. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), better known as the Corona virus, is a new type of coronavirus that is transmitted to humans. This virus can affect anyone, such as the elderly (the elderly), adults, children, and infants, including pregnant women and nursing mothers. Corona virus infection is called COVID-19 (Corona Virus Disease 2019) and was first discovered in the city of Wuhan, China at the end of December 2019. The virus is transmitted very quickly and has spread to almost all countries, including Indonesia, in just a few months.

This makes some countries implement policies to impose lockdowns in order to prevent the spread of Corona virus. In Indonesia itself, a Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB) policy was put in place to suppress the spread of this virus. Corona virus infection or COVID-19 is caused by coronavirus, which is a group of viruses that infect the respiratory system. In most cases, coronaviruses only cause mild to moderate respiratory infections, such as flu. However, this virus can also cause severe respiratory infections, such as pneumonia, Middle-East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). It is suspected that the Corona virus was initially transmitted from animals to humans. However, it was later discovered that the Corona virus was also transmitted from human to human. Corona virus can infect anyone, but the effect will be more dangerous or even fatal if it occurs in elderly people, pregnant women, people who have certain diseases, smokers, or people whose immune systems are weak, for example in cancer patients.

The presence of mycotoxins in food and processed food products has an impact on worsening the immune system, moreover at the same time being infected with the corona 19 virus (covid 19) so that it can cause death.

*) The author is a teaching staff at the Food Technology Study Program Faculty of Agricultural Technology, Udayana University, Bali