ABSTRACT
A total of 14 species of Penicillium were identified from 33 isolates from dairy products and a dairy environment in India. Six mycotoxins were produced by these isolates: citrinin, ochratoxins, patulin, penicillic acid, cyclopiazonic acid, and PR-toxin. Citrinin was the most commonly detected toxin. Climatic conditions in the tropics along with late harvesting of crops and inadequate storage facilities are conducive to mycotoxin contamination of foodstuffs. Luteoskyrin, a mycotoxin produced by P. islandicum , is known to be hepatocarcinogenic in rodents. Penitrem tremorgenic mycotoxins, produced by Penicillium spp., usually occur as a complex mixture of penitrems A–F, with penitrem A as the principal component. Different environmental conditions and different substrates potentiate the synthesis of various trichothecene mycotoxins, and often more than one trichothecene is found in a given food or feedstuff. Polyclonal antisera against 434 deoxynivalenol and 3-acetyldeoxynivalenol were used in a direct enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to detect these mycotoxins in buffer solutions.
