Abstract

Aflatoxins (AFs) are polyketide-derived; cancer causing toxic fungal metabolites (mycotoxins) produced by filamentous fungal species Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus parasiticus, Aspergillus pseudocaelatus, Aspergillus pseudonomius and rarely Aspergillus nomius in/on foods and feeds, exclusively in field corn and peanuts. AFs frequently contaminate agricultural commodities and thus pose serious health hazards to plants, humans and domestic animals. AFs are “natural” contaminants of foods, their formation is unavoidable and it’s very important to detoxify chemically or physically crops of foods that are contaminated by toxins in ways that retain their edibility. This review focuses on the most important detection methods of Aflatoxin (AF) fungi and quantification of their toxic products which are threated to humans, animals and crops