Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites of molds and mainly produced by species of the genera Aspergillus, Penicillium and Fusarium. They can be synthesized on the field, during harvest as well as during storage. They are fairly stable compounds and difficult to remove. Among several hundreds of mycotoxins, according to the WHO, ochratoxin A, aflatoxins, zearalenone, deoxynivalenol, patulin, fumonisins as well as T-2 and HT-2 toxins deserve special attention. Cytotoxicity is one of the most important adverse properties of mycotoxins and is generally assessed via the MTT assay, the neutral red assay, the LDH assay, the CCK-8 assay and the ATP test in different cell lines. The apoptotic cell ratio is mainly assessed via flow cytometry. Aside from the assessment of the toxicity of individual mycotoxins, it is important to determine the cytotoxicity of mycotoxin combinations. Such combinations often exhibit stronger cytotoxicity than individual mycotoxins. The cytotoxicity of different mycotoxins often depends on the cell line used in the experiment and is frequently time- and dose-dependent. A major drawback of assessing mycotoxin cytotoxicity in cell lines is the lack of interaction typical for complex organisms (for example, immune responses).

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a system of practices that has been developing for over 2,000 years. Unlike in medicine developed in western culture, it is characterized by a holistic approach to treat diseases, taking into account context of given disease (co-occurring diseases, age and sex of the patient). The practices of Traditional Chinese Medicine include acupuncture, acupressure, qigong gymnastics, and the application of herbal medicine and usage of medicinal mushrooms. According to WHO, cardiovascular diseases, such as stroke or heart attack, are one of leading causes of death, accounting for almost 1/3 of all deaths in 2019. Of the many mushrooms with medicinal properties, those that can be used as drugs for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases deserve special attention. This category includes, among others mushrooms from genus Agaricus, Auricularia or Pleurotus. They are rich source of bioactive compounds, such as flavonoids, sterols, polysaccharides and fiber. Among them, some mushrooms act in a direct way, e.g. by reducing atherosclerotic plaque, and some in an indirect manner, e.g. by reducing blood pressure and cholesterol levels. The main issues in the integration of TCM into Western medicine are the lack of sufficient evidence of its effectiveness, the poor quality of clinical trials, as well as the small number of publications available in English. In the case of mushrooms used in TCM, most studies were performed in animal models or cell lines and used only a single substance instead of the whole fungus.

Mycotoxins are toxic secondary metabolites produced primarily by molds of the genera Aspergillus, Fusarium, and Penicillium. These widespread food and feed contaminants can cause significant risks to human and animal health. The aim of this study was to compare the performance of reference chromatographic methods (high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with either fluorescence detection (HPLC-FLD) or tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS)) with two commercially available rapid tests from two manufacturers. To that end, 90 randomly selected grain samples (barley n = 10, wheat n = 21, triticale n = 10, maize n = 49) collected in 2025 were analyzed for deoxynivalenol (DON), zearalenone (ZEN), ochratoxin A (OTA), and the sum of T-2 and HT-2 toxins. None of the samples exceeded the maximum levels established by the European Union (EU); however, widespread contamination with one or more mycotoxins was observed. Results showed that although rapid test strips offer advantages such as low cost, short analysis time, and operational simplicity, their considerably higher limits of detection and quantification values make them unsuitable for advanced laboratory analysis. Therefore, HPLC-FLD and HPLC-MS/MS remain the gold-standard methods for reliable, sensitive, and precise mycotoxin determination.