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Edible and medicinal plants (EMPs) are widely used but are easily infected by harmful fungi which produce mycotoxins. Herein, 127 samples from 11 provinces were collected to investigate 15 mycotoxins based on geographic, demographic, processing, and risk characteristics. A total of 13 mycotoxins were detected, and aflatoxin B 1 (0.56~97.00 μg/kg), deoxynivalenol (9.41~1570.35 μg/kg), fumonisin B 1 (8.25~1875.77 μg/kg), fumonisin B 2 (2.74~543.01 μg/kg), ochratoxin A (0.62~19.30 μg/kg), and zearalenone (1.64~2376.58 μg/kg) occurred more frequently. Mycotoxin levels and species were significantly different by region, types of EMPs, and method of processing. The margin of exposure (MOE) values was well below the safe MOE (10,000). AFB 1 exposure from Coix seed and malt consumption in China was of high health concern. The hazard Index (HI) method showed the range of 113.15~130.73% for malt, indicating a public health concern. In conclusion, EMPs should be concerned because of the cumulative effects of co-occurred mycotoxins, and safety management strategies should be developed in follow-up studies.

Economic loss of postharvest wheat under poor storage conditions due to fungal spoilage and mycotoxin contamination is severe. In order to study the influencing factors of the aggravation of mildew in natural wheat during storage, we assessed changes in Fusarium mycotoxins by high performance liquid chromatography, changes in fungal communities by high-throughput sequencing, and changes in biochemical components in wheat stored under artificial simulation conditions. Deoxynivalenol was the dominant Fusarium mycotoxin, reaching 1103 μg/kg at 25 °C with 75% relative humidity after 30 weeks. Under these conditions, Fusarium dominated the fungal communities, and Fusarium graminearum was significantly negatively correlated with glutenin ( p < 0.05). Low storage temperatures and low humidity result in lower levels of Fusarium mycotoxins. Different fungi tended to consume different wheat components, and the interaction between environmental and biological factors eventually leads to the deterioration of wheat quality. These findings might provide valuable information for control strategies of mildew occurrence during grain storage.

Multiple mycotoxins can contaminate foods simultaneously leading to increased risks for human health. To assess exposure and health risks of 9 mycotoxins, we employed a multiple immunoaffinity column - high performance liquid chromatography method to determine their concentrations of 35 whole wheat flour and 50 refined wheat flour samples from China. The recoveries of the validated method were 75.78-118.24%, and the limits of detection and quantification were 1.5-20 and 5.0-60 µg kg -1 , respectively. Multiple mycotoxins were detected in 37.1% of whole wheat flour and 8% of refined wheat flour. In the worst-case scenario, the hazard index was 222.69% for male and 253.97% for female with a cumulative exposure to Fusarium mycotoxins through consuming whole wheat flour, and deoxynivalenol was the main mycotoxin detected. In conclusion, whole wheat flour should be regarded with more health concern because of cumulative effects of co-occurred mycotoxins., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)