Mycotoxin Binding Potential of Yeast Species

Ayesha Khan, Saba Sana*, Yasir Zahoor

Abstract

ABSTRACT:
Fungal species are capable of producing toxic secondary metabolites commonly known as mycotoxins. One of the important group of mycotoxins are aflatoxins. There are mainly four kinds of aflatoxins AFB1, AFB2, AFG1 and AFG2. Other important mycotoxins are ochratoxin, trichothescens, fumonisins and ergot alkaloids. These aflatoxins are produced by the Aspergillus flavus, A. parasiticus and various other fungal species. These mycotoxins can infect our feed items before or after harvesting the crops. These can contaminate all kinds of food such as grains, spices, nuts and dry fruits. These toxins are also present in milk and milk products. They can be a potential source for major health problems in humans and livestock which results in greater economic loss. To overcome the problems related to mycotoxins we should need to have proper knowledge about sources, types and mechanism action of mycotoxins. Now a day's many kinds of toxin binders are available in markets. These toxin binders bind the fungal toxins and remove them from the product. Yeast and its cell wall components mostly contains glucan and mannan which have toxin binding ability. In this review we will analyze mycotoxins, with reference to mycotoxins outbreaks, characterization of bindins, and toxin binding potential of yeast