Fungal and Mycotoxin Contamination in Stored Masticatories

A range of diverse food sources is necessary to safeguard and maintain the health of human beings. Among them, plant masticatories viz. Phyllanthus emblica, Terminalia chebula, Terminalia bellirica, Piper betel, Areca catechu, Elettaria cardamomum and Nicotiana tabacum etc. significantly impart to nutritional as well as medicinal security to the mankind, which make it traditionally useful across the world especially in Asian continents. Even with their beneficial effects, its consumption leads to serious health problems because of molds, and their toxic metabolites contamination during post harvest storage and transportation. Additionally, traditional storage practices and compatible environmental conditions makes masticatories prone to fungal and mycotoxin contamination, resulting to their qualitative and quantitative deterioration. Although during post harvest storage, a number of initiatives are ongoing to protect the raw masticatories from fungal and pest contamination but their nutritional and medicinal security remains concern. Not only in developing countries, but developed countries also suffer from hazardous toxic metabolites of molds in stored food commodities. Among molds and their toxic metabolites (mycotoxins), aflatoxins are most frequent during storage time, leading to significant economic losses.

Impact of Fungal Contamination on Masticatory Health

This problem is quite evident in tropical and subtropical regions of the world, where moisture and warm temperature favors frequent fungal growth and aflatoxin secretion. Masticatories exposed to mycotoxin associated fungi, become unfit for human consumption, as it increases the risk of hepatic cancer. Piper betel leaf is one of the very common masticatory used by the people all over the world including USA and UK, but during its storage and transportation fungal contaminations are frequent, and about 35-70% post harvest storage losses have been reported because of fungal contamination. Among all reported Aflatoxins type, aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) are extremely toxic, immunosuppressive, genotoxic, carcinogenic, liver cirrhosis, tumor induction, and teratogenesis in animals and humans. International Agency for Research on Cancer classified as a Group I human carcinogen. Further, Li et al., (2018) have suggested that the carcinogenic nature of AFB1 is because of double bond of terminal furan rings (carcinogenic site), which influences the epigenetic mechanisms including alterations in DNA methylation and histone modifications.

Health Risks Associated with Aflatoxins

In addition, AFB1 is capable to induce thymic aplasia, reduces T-lymphocyte number and thus, suppresses phagocytic activity. Immunosuppressive effects of aflatoxin may affect the unborn fetus, as it has potential to transfer across the porcine placenta. According to a report by Yabe & Nakajima; (2004) in China and sub-Saharan Africa, about 2.5 lac deaths occurred annually due to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) because of high endemic aflatoxin concentrations. AFB1 contamination from stored food commodity can’t be removed even after heat treatment at 100ºC thus, considered as an unavoidable contaminant of food items and known to be highly stable compound.

Challenges in Mold Control

To overcome mold, and their associated toxin contamination, range of synthetic pesticides have been in use. But continuous use of it leads to various side effect almost parallel to aflatoxins over consumer health including residual toxicity. Thus, there is urgent need to replace use of synthetic preservative and to find some safer alternative of it, which should be cost effective as well as safe towards consumer.

Potential Benefits of Essential Oils

Recently, uses of EO in food sector have attracted a great deal because of their nature and potential. Term “Essential Oil” (EO) was introduced in the sixteenth century by a Swiss reformer of medicine, Paracelsus von Hohenheim. These are natural, complex, volatile substances found in a variety of aromatic plants. Different active chemical compound present in EO acts synergistically and fantasies of these green chemicals have maximized its prospects as an alternating source of synthetic preservatives (grey chemicals). Many EOs and their active components have been regarded as safe and placed in GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) category.

Advancements through Nanotechnology

Besides having effective applications, there are some factors which affect their efficacy and volatile nature of EOs are one of them. EOs get easily evaporated from system and may alter the taste and odor of the food ingredients. In order to overcome these problems nanotechnology has been incorporated in food industries and very recently, nanoencapsulation of EOs and their applications are rapidly expanding in food sectors. It helps in controlled release of EOs and enhances the availability of EOs.

Exploring Shahi Jeera for Food Preservation

Bunium persicum Boiss. (Apiaceae) commonly named as Shahi jeera is a herbaceous perennial plant. This plant has been cultivated in most part of the world including India for their culinary and medicinal uses. The seeds are commonly used as aromatic flavoring. However, there are no reports on the efficacy of BPEO against mycotoxigenic storage fungi, inhibition of cellular methylglyoxal biosynthesis and its nano-encapsulation for long-scale commercialization.