Abstract
Aflatoxins are a welknown group of mycotoxins. Among mycotoxins, aflatoxin B1 is the most potential mutagen, hepatotoxin, hepatocarcinogen and teratogen. It is commonly found in agricultural, food and feed products including corn, peanut, dried medicinal herbs milk and dairy products. The risk of aflatoxin exposure and liver carcinogens are clearly high and frequently reported in Southeast Asian warm and humid countries, such as Thailand and southern China. The incidence of liver cancer and cholelangiocarcinoma in Thailand is the highest one among other types of cancer. Other co-carcinogens and co-tumor promoters of hepatocarcinogenesis, such as liver fluke and nitrosamines, could be involved and are yet to be further studied. The cause of liver hepatocarcinoma in animals and human has been suggested to be due to the contamination of aflatoxins in feed and food products. The risk of liver cancer is even much higher among the carriers of the hepatitis B virus which is considered to be a liver-tumor promoter. Aflatoxin contamination causes health damage to human and farm animals and nationally and internationally economic loss to food supplies and food markets as well as to agricultural farmers and business. Prevention and control measure of mycotoxins are therefore necessary and encouraged to reduce the damage of agricultural products and the decrease the risk and incidence of liver diseases and hepatoma. Researchers are actively looking for methods to control aflatoxin in susceptible crops and food products. Fungal inhibitors, chemicals to inactivate aflatoxins have been found and practically used. Some chemopreventive agents in hepatocarcinogen-risk consumers are also urgently needed. Classical methods for plant disease prevention and routine technologies for controlling plant pathogens have generally been unsuccessful. Legal limitation and safety limits of the aflatoxin contamination in food, milk and their products are still not fully effective in Thailand and other developing countries. Therefore, the surveillance, monitoring and control for the fungal growth and aflatoxin contamination in crops, commodities, feeds and foods have been emphasized to practice, however, more efforts and research projects have to be done. The newer strategies and guidelines for more effective control of aflatoxins are essentially needed in each country. Some of those problematic decontamination and controlling methods were generally reviewed and discussed.
