Since ochratoxin A (OTA) was discovered, it has been ubiquitous as a natural contaminant of moldy food and feed. The multiple toxic effects of OTA are a real threat for human beings and animal health. For example, OTA can cause porcine nephropathy but can also damage poultries. Humans exposed to OTA can develop (notably by inhalation in the development of acute renal failure within 24 h) a range of chronic disorders such as upper urothelial carcinoma. OTA plays the main role in the pathogenesis of some renal diseases including Balkan endemic nephropathy, kidney tumors occurring in certain endemic regions of the Balkan Peninsula, and chronic interstitial nephropathy occurring in Northern African countries and likely in other parts of the world. OTA leads to DNA adduct formation, which is known for its genotoxicity and carcinogenicity. The present article discusses how renal carcinogenicity and nephrotoxicity cause both oxidative stress and direct genotoxicity. Careful analyses of the data show that OTA carcinogenic effects are due to combined direct and indirect mechanisms (e.g., genotoxicity, oxidative stress, epigenetic factors). Altogether this provides strong evidence that OTA carcinogenicity can also occur in humans.

In the early 1960s the discovery of aflatoxins began when a total of 100,000 turkey poults died by hitherto unknown turkey “X” disease in England. The disease was associated with Brazilian groundnut meal affected by Aspergillus flavus. The toxin was named Aspergillus flavus toxin—aflatoxin. From the point of view of agriculture, aflatoxins show the utmost importance. Until now, a total of 20 aflatoxins have been described, with B₁, B₂, G₁, and G₂ aflatoxins being the most significant. Contamination by aflatoxins is a global health problem. Aflatoxins pose acutely toxic, teratogenic, immunosuppressive, carcinogenic, and teratogenic effects. Besides food insecurity and human health, aflatoxins affect humanity at different levels, such as social, economical, and political. Great emphasis is placed on aflatoxin mitigation using biocontrol methods. Thus, this review is focused on aflatoxins in terms of historical development, the principal milestones of aflatoxin research, and recent data on their toxicity and different ways of mitigation.

Spices are imported worldwide mainly from developing countries with tropical and/or subtropical climate. Local conditions, such as high temperature, heavy rainfall, and humidity, promote fungal growth leading to increased occurrence of mycotoxins in spices. Moreover, the lack of good agricultural practice (GAP), good manufacturing practice (GMP), and good hygienic practice (GHP) in developing countries are of great concern. This review summarizes recent data from a total of 56 original papers dealing with mycotoxins and microfungi in various spices in the last five years. A total of 38 kinds of spices, 17 mycotoxins, and 14 microfungi are discussed in the review. Worldwide, spices are rather overlooked in terms of mycotoxin regulations, which usually only cover aflatoxins (AFs) and ochratoxin A (OTA). In this paper, an extensive attention is devoted to the limits on mycotoxins in spices in the context of the European Union (EU) as well as other countries. As proven in this review, the incidence of AFs and OTA, as well as other mycotoxins, is relatively high in many spices; thus, the preparation of new regulation limits is advisable.

The consumption of herbal-based supplements, which are believed to have beneficial effects on human health with no side effects, has become popular around the world and this trend is still increasing. Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn, commonly known as milk thistle (MT), is the most commonly studied herb associated with the treatment of liver diseases. The hepatoprotective effects of active substances in silymarin, with silybin being the main compound, have been demonstrated in many studies. However, MT can be affected by toxigenic micro-fungi and contaminated by mycotoxins with adverse effects. The beneficial effect of silymarin can thus be reduced or totally antagonized by mycotoxins. MT has proven to be affected by micro-fungi of the Fusarium and Alternaria genera, in particular, and their mycotoxins. Alternariol-methyl-ether (AME), alternariol (AOH), beauvericin (BEA), deoxynivalenol (DON), enniatin A (ENNA), enniatin A₁ (ENNA₁), enniatin B (ENNB), enniatin B₁ (ENNB₁), HT-2 toxin (HT-2), T-2 toxin (T-2), tentoxin (TEN), and zearalenone (ZEA) seem to be most significant in MT-based dietary supplements. This review focuses on summarizing cases of mycotoxins in MT to emphasize the need for strict monitoring and regulation, as mycotoxins in relation with MT-based dietary supplements are not covered by European Union legislation.

Drought stress is a serious threat. Therefore, improvements in crop productivity under conditions of limited water availability are vital to keep global food security. Apples and cherries belong to the most produced fruit worldwide. Thus, searching for their tolerant or resistant cultivars is beneficial for crop breeders to produce more resistant plants. We studied five apple (“Malinové holovouské”, “Fragrance”, “Rubinstep”, “Idared”, “Car Alexander”) and five cherry (“Regina”, “Napoleonova”, “Kaštánka”, “Sunburst”, “P-HL-C”) cultivars for their adaptation in response to progressive drought stress. The reaction of an in vitro culture to osmotic stress simulated by increasing polyethylene glycol (PEG) concentration in medium was evaluated through the morphological (fresh and dry weight, water content, leaf area), physiological (chlorophyll and carotenoids content), and biochemical (reactive oxygen species and malondialdehyde content) parameters. Drought-like stress negatively affected the water content, leaf areas, and chlorophyll content in both fruit species. Oxidative status and membrane damage of plants under water deficiency conditions occurred to be important indicators of stress tolerance mechanism. Cherries exhibited higher hydrogen peroxide levels compared to apples, whereas their malondialdehyde values were generally lower. The overall results indicated wide tolerance range to water deficit among apple and cherry in vitro culture as well as among cultivars within single plant species.