A poisoning syndrome

Mycotoxins of the moulds

Aflatoxins of Aspergillus flavus on nuts and grain; the trichothecenes of Fusarium, and of the poison fire coral; ochratoxin; the ergot alkaloids, which have their own entry.

Mycotoxins of the moulds: how soon does it show?

Hours for an acute dose; years for the cancers.

How does it run?

Aflatoxin B1, the most potent natural carcinogen known, causes liver cancer, above all with hepatitis B, and killed 125 people in Kenya in 2004 from mouldy maize; the trichothecene T-2 destroyed the marrow of thousands in the Orenburg region of Russia in 1942–47 (alimentary toxic aleukia), and the fire coral, Podostroma cornu-damae, has killed in Japan and Korea by the same toxins.

What is done for it?

None specific; the prevention is the storage of the grain.

Historical and descriptive, not medical advice. In a poisoning, call a poison centre or emergency services.

Which substances in the database cause it?

Aflatoxin mould (Aspergillus flavus), plate: Aspergillus flavus (aflatoxin mould), a stained hypha under the microscope
FungusAflatoxin mouldAspergillus flavus A yellow mould of cereal grains, legumes, and tree nuts, rotting them in the field, in harvest, and in storage.Deadly
Poison fire coral (Trichoderma cornu-damae), plate: Trichoderma cornu-damae (poison fire coral)
FungusPoison fire coralTrichoderma cornu-damae (formerly Podostroma) A red, finger-like fungus of Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia.Deadly
Winter-grain mould (Fusarium sporotrichioides), plate: Fusarium verticillioides (winter-grain mould, representative Fusarium), spores and conidiophores under the microscope
FungusWinter-grain mouldFusarium sporotrichioides and relatives Pink and white moulds of grain left in the field over winter.Deadly

Sources

  • IARC (2012). Monographs, vol. 100F: aflatoxins, Group 1. Standard reference work
  • Joffe, A. Z. (1971). “Fusarium poae and F. sporotrichioides as principal causal agents of alimentary toxic aleukia,” in Mycotoxic Fungi, Mycotoxins, Mycotoxicoses, vol. 3.
  • Azziz-Baumgartner, E., et al. (2005). “Case-control study of an acute aflatoxicosis outbreak, Kenya, 2004.” Environmental Health Perspectives 113. Verified against its record · doi:10.1289/ehp.8384