Table 1.

The representative mycotoxins and their toxicities.

Mycotoxins		Abbreviation	Toxicities
AFs	Aflatoxin B1	AFB1	AFs play an important role in developing countries; they have acute toxicity and can lead to cancer, immunologic suppression, and nutritional interference [25,26,27]. AFB1 is the most potent carcinogenic agent [28]. AFB1 and AFM1 are classified as group 1 carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) [29,30].
	Aflatoxin B2	AFB2
	Aflatoxin M1	AFM1
	Aflatoxin G1	AFG1
	Aflatoxin G2	AFG2
Alternaria toxins	Alternariol	AOH	AOH and AME have no acute toxic effects, but possess carcinogenicity, with an especially high incidence of esophageal cancer [31]. Moreover, they also display mutagenicity, genotoxicity, and cytotoxicity, and can induce DNA breaks and inhibit the activity of topoisomerase [32,33,34].
	Altenariol monomethyl ether	AME
	Tenuazonic acid	TeA	TeA has acute toxicity and was listed in the Food and Drug Administration (FAD) toxic chemical register [32,35]; it inhibits protein synthesis [36] and has cytotoxic [37], carcinogenic, and synergistic effects [38].
Ochratoxin A		OTA	OTA has nephrotoxic, hepatotoxic, neurotoxic, teratogenic, and immunotoxic effects [39,40], and is classified as a Group 2B carcinogen [41].
Deoxynivalenol		DON	DON displays cytotoxicity [42,43] and can induce emesis, anorexia and diarrhea, weight loss, neuroendocrine changes, immunological effects, leukocytosis, hemorrhaging, or circulatory shock [44].
Zearalenone		ZEA	ZEA displays carcinogenicity, immunotoxicity, genotoxicity, reproductive and developmental toxicity; in addition, it has an effect on the endocrine system [16,45,46].
Patulin		PTL	PTL displays neurotoxicity, embryotoxicity, teratogenicity, immunotoxicity, and can cause convulsions, dyspnea, pulmonary congestion, edema, ulceration, hyperemia, and distension of the gastrointestinal tract [47,48].
T-2 toxin		T-2	T-2 is a potent inhibitor of protein synthesis and mitochondrial function, and shows immunosuppressive and cytotoxic effects [49]; it also has extremely toxic effects on the skin and mucous surfaces [50,51].
Fumonisin B1		FB1	FB1 can lead to hepatotoxicity, cancer, and apoptosis [52,53], and can cause pulmonary edema and hydrothorax in pigs [54]. FB1 is classified as a Group 2B carcinogen [41].
Citrinin		CIT	CIT displays reproductive toxicity, as well as nephrotoxic, embryotoxic, teratogenic, hepatotoxic, immunotoxic, and carcinogenic properties [55,56,57].