Table 2.

Mycotoxin types, along with the foods in which they are mostly found and their respective toxicities.

Mycotoxin	Description	Foods Mostly Found	Toxicities	References
Aflatoxins (aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, G2, M1, M2)	They are produced by several species of Aspergillus, especially Aspergillus parasiticus and Aspergillus flavus, in many commodities	Cereals (wheat, sorghum, rice, acha, millet, guinea corn, corn, etc.), tree nuts (almond, pistachio, coconut, walnut, etc.), oilseeds (peanut, sunflower, cotton seeds, soybean, and sesame), spices (garlic, black pepper, coriander, turmeric, ginger, and chili peppers), etc.	Most aflatoxins are genotoxic, hepatotoxic, mutagenic, etc. and can retard growth in children. AFB1 is most toxic of all and also a very carcinogenic toxin which has been linked directly to many health problems, including liver cancer, in several animals. The understanding of induction of mutations, DNA damage, and metabolism in individuals with dietary exposure to aflatoxins contributes to the general evaluation of their adverse effects on human and animal health. A cross-sectional study conducted on children within the age of 1 to 5 years reported a striking inverse relationship between growth and the level of aflatoxin–albumin adduct.	[2,39]
Ochratoxin A	Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a toxic mycotoxin produced by A. niger, A. ochraceus, Penicillium verrucosum, and A. carbonarius	Cereals (especially wheat and barley) and their products, dry vine fruits, spices, licorice, coffee beans, wine, grape juice, roots, meat, (particularly pork, from animals that consumed infected grains), etc.	OTA is a nephrotoxin and a carcinogen, and it has been directly linked to tumors in the human urinary tract, although the IARC still considers it a possible carcinogen to humans. It is also implicated in various health conditions.	[40,41]
Deoxynivalenol (DON)	DON is a trichothecene mycotoxin produced by fungal species such as Fusarium graminearum in cereals	Grains (such as wheat and beans), spices, etc.	DON has been shown to cause acute toxicities in humans, with the main symptom being severe GI toxicity. Consumption of DON-contaminated cereals was linked to several incidents of poisoning in China and at least one outbreak in India.	[42]
Fumonisins (fumonisins B1, B2, B3, B4)	They are mycotoxins produced by Fusarium species, including the section Liseola; structurally, they are strongly similar to sphinganine, the sphingolipid backbone precursor; over 15 fumonisins have been described to date	Grains (such as maize, wheat, and beans), spices, etc.	Both fumonisin and F. verticillioides contamination in maize positively correlates with cancer of the esophagus in rats, as indicated by studies. Exposure to fumonisins can result in neural tube defects, most likely via disrupting the biosynthesis of sphingolipids and subsequent sphingolipid depletion, which are important for the functions of lipid rafts, particularly folate processing through folate transporters with high affinity.	[43,44,45,46]
Zearalenone (ZEA), also known as F-2 mycotoxin	It is a nonsteroidal estrogenic metabolite produced by some Fusarium and Gibberella species, such as Fusarium graminearum; zearalenone is distributed globally	Grains (especially maize, rice, millet, sorghum, rye, oats, barley, wheat, etc.), spices, etc.	Zearalenone can cause an increase in the incidence of pituitary tumors and liver cell in mice, in line with the hormonal mode of carcinogenic actions. Elevated serum levels of α-zearalenol and ZEA are associated with early puberty. ZEA’s ability to induce hyperkeratotic papilloma in the rat esophageal squamous epithelium forestomach suggests its involvement in tumor development in the gastrointestinal tract. ZEA has been shown to be genotoxic and also has the ability to cause hepatocellular adenomas in mice.	[3,47]
Patulin	It is produced by P. expansum, Penicillium, Paecilomyces, and Aspergillus species	Many fruits, vegetables, and grains, especially apple, rotting maize, peanuts, fig, acha, etc.	The acute symptoms of patulin include liver, kidney toxicity, spleen damage and toxicity, and immune toxicity. In humans, gastrointestinal (GI) disturbances, vomiting, and nausea are usually reported. Patulin is genotoxic, but its potential for carcinogenicity is yet to be reported.	[38,42]
Citrinin	It is a mycotoxin first reported in the mold Penicillium citrinum; it has been reported in more than 12 Penicillium species and numerous Aspergillus species	Agricultural crops, such as barley, oats, rye, rice, corn, and wheat, as well foods colored using the Monascus pigment	Citrinin is associated with the yellowed rice disease reported in Japan and also acts as nephrotoxin in animal species.	[42]
Ergot alkaloids	The ergot alkaloids are chemical substances released as toxic mixtures of alkaloids in the sclerotia of Claviceps species that are known pathogenic microbes of many species of grass	Agricultural crops, such as barley, oats, rye, rice, corn, and wheat	Ergot sclerotia ingestion from infected cereals, commonly in the form of bread made from contaminated flour, results in ergotism, a human disease known as St. Anthony’s fire.	[25]
T-2	T-2 is a trichothecene mycotoxin	Grains (such as maize, rice, millet, sorghum, rye, oats, barley, and wheat), spices, etc.	T-2 has lymphocytic, carcinogenic, cytotoxic, and immunosuppressive actions against mammalian cells. T-2 toxin induced apoptosis and developmental toxicity in zebrafish embryos.	[48,49,50]
Diacetoxyscirpenol (DAS) or 4,15-diacetoxyscirpenol (DAS), also referred to as anguidine	It is a trichothecene mycotoxin secondary metabolite produced by the Fusarium genus	Grains (such as wheat, maize, rice, millet, sorghum, soybean, rye, oats, and barley), potato, coffee, etc.	DAS inhibits the production of Ig in the human lymphocytes stimulated by mitogen and can cause esophageal hyperplasia. The major adverse effects following repeated and acute exposure were hematotoxicity and emesis, respectively.	[51,52,53]
Fusarenon X (FusX)	FusX is one of the trichothecenes capable of causing cytotoxicity, carcinogenicity, and immunosuppressive response in animal models and possibly in humans	Oats, cassava, rye, bananas, wheat, maize, rice, millet, sorghum, soybean, mangoes, etc.	In vitro and in vivo, FusX initiates apoptosis in mouse thymocytes, which may be hypothetically applicable to humans. It is very cytotoxic to many cells, and it is believed to have chromosomal effects and to be teratogenic. Fusarenon X has been shown to be carcinogenic, especially to animals.	[54,55,56]
Nivalenol (NIV)	NIV is a trichothecene mycotoxin, which, in nature, is mostly produced by species of Fusarium	Cereals and their products, legumes, etc.	Nivalenol, T-2 toxin, and DON were used as bioweapons in some places such as Laos, Cambodia, and Afghanistan, and they were all detected in the vegetation at affected sites, while T-2 toxin was also detected in the blood and urine samples of victims. NIV can increase the rate of induced cancer and mutation, and it is potentially genotoxic. It causes damage in the DNA of colon, jejunum, stomach, bone marrow, and kidney.	[57,58]