6.1 Acute Toxicity and Carcinogenicity of Aflatoxinto HumansAflatoxins (AFs) are products of Aspergillus and Penicillium species. They arehighly potent in the induction of acute toxicity in animals and in humans.Approximately 4.5 billion people are exposed to uncontrolled amounts ofAFB1 in the third world.1The liver is the prime target organ for acute toxicity and carcinogenicity inall species in that the predominant route of exposure is via the alimentarytract.2 Acute aflatoxicosis outbreaks in Uganda and Taiwan resulted invomiting, abdominal pain, pulmonary edema, and fatty infiltration andnecrosis of the liver. Consumption of AF-contaminated corn (6–16 ppm) in200 Indian villages resulted in over 25% fatalities, for which the primarycause of death was gastrointestinal hemorrhage.3–5The symptoms of acute aflatoxicosis are indistinguishable fromthose of Reye’s syndrome; vomiting, convulsions, coma, and death wereassociated with cerebral edema and fatty involvement of the liver, kidney,and heart. Aflatoxin B1 was detected in the liver, kidney, brain, bile,and gastrointestinal content of 22 out of 23 fatalities attributed to Reye’ssyndrome in Thailand6 and the United States.7
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