Browsing by Author "De Saeger, S."
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- earlyMYCO – a mother & child cohort in Portugal to assess exposure to mycotoxinsPublication . Martins, C.; Assunção, R.; Serrano, D.; De Boevre, M.; De Saeger, S.; Alvito, P.; Vidigal, C.; Lamy, E.; Nunes, C.Aim: This study aims for the first time in Portugal to assess the early-life exposure to mycotoxins through a mother & child cohort.
- Exposure assessment of Portuguese population to multiple mycotoxins: the human biomonitoring approachPublication . Martins, Carla; Vidal, A.; De Boevre, M.; De Saeger, S.; Nunes, C.; Torres, D.; Goios, A.; Lopes, C.; Assunção, R; Alvito, P.Mycotoxins constitute a relevant group of food contaminants with several associated health outcomes such as estrogenic, immunotoxic, nephrotoxic and teratogenic effects. Although scarce data are available in Portugal, human biomonitoring studies have been globally developed to assess the exposure to mycotoxins at individual level. In order to overcome this lack of data, the present study concerned the analysis of mycotoxins in 24h urine and first-morning urine paired samples from 94 participants enrolled within the scope of the National Food, Nutrition, and Physical Activity Survey of the Portuguese General Population (2015–2016). Following a salt assisted matrix extraction, urine samples were analysed by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry for the simultaneous determination of 37 urinary mycotoxins’ biomarkers and data obtained used to estimate the probable daily intake as well as the risk characterization applying the Hazard Quotient approach. Results revealed the exposure of Portuguese population to zearalenone, deoxynivalenol, ochratoxin A, alternariol, citrinin and fumonisin B1 through the quantification in 24h urine and first-morning urine paired samples. Risk characterization data revealed a potential concern to some reported mycotoxins since the reference intake values were exceeded by some of the considered participants. Alternariol was identified for the first time in urine samples from a European country; however, risk characterization was not performed due to lack of reference intake value. These results confirmed mycotoxins as part of the human exposome of the Portuguese population reinforcing the need for further studies regarding the determinants of exposure.
- Exposure of Portuguese population to aflatoxins: the contribution of human biomonitoring to estimation of burden of diseasePublication . Martins, Carla; Vidal, Arnau; De Boevre, M.; De Saeger, S.; Nunes, Carla; Torres, D.; Goios, A.; Lopes, C.; Alvito, Paula; Assunção, RicardoHuman biomonitoring (HBM) is recognized as an important tool to assess the Human exposure to chemicals, contributing to describe trends and patterns of exposure over time and to identify population groups that could be under risk. Natural chemicals as mycotoxins, fungi metabolites that produce toxic effects in humans, are important compounds that could be found in foods usually consumed worldwide in a daily basis. Mycotoxins as aflatoxins (AFTs) are genotoxic, carcinogenic and immunosuppressive compounds. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of their main health toxic effects and is the third leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. In Portugal, scarce data are available regarding exposure to AFTs and none previous study used HBM data to characterize comprehensively the burden associated to this exposure. In the scope of the National Food, Nutrition, and Physical Activity Survey of the Portuguese General Population (2015-2016), 24h-urine samples from 94 participants were analyzed by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) for the simultaneous determination of AFTs (B1, B2, G1, G2, M1). A model was developed to estimate the health impact of the exposure of Portuguese population to aflatoxins, estimating the number of cases of HCC and DALYs attributed to AFTs exposure. AFTs were detected in 12.8% (AFB1), 16.0% (AFB2) and 19.1% (AFM1) of the 24h-urine samples. The estimated number of extra cases of HCC attributed to this exposure ranged from 17 to 65 cases/year; the associated DALYs for the Portuguese population ranged from 284 to 1802 years. The present study generated, for the first time and within a HBM study, reliable data on internal exposure to AFTs at individual level for the Portuguese population. These data were crucial to characterize the burden derived from this exposure and to support risk managers to establish preventive policy measures that contribute to ensure the public health protection.
- Exposure of Portuguese population to mycotoxins: the contribution of human biomonitoring studiesPublication . Martins, C.; De Boevre, M.; De Saeger, S.; Assunção, R.; Nunes, Carla; Torres, D.; Goios, A.; Lopes, C.; Alvito, P.; Vidal, A.Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by fungi that occurs widely in food commodities, and are known to potentially cause toxicity and carcinogenic outcomes to humans. Therefore, it is crucial to assess the population exposure to mycotoxins. Biomarker-driven research appeared as a promising method to assess the mycotoxin exposure in humans. To date, in Portugal, there is a lack of human studies to assess biomarker of exposure to mycotoxins. In the Scope of National Food, Nutrition, and Physical Activity Survey of the Portuguese General Population (2015-2016), a cross-sectional study was developed based on a convenience sample of 94 participants. Participants were from both genders, aged 18-84 years, from north and center regions of Portugal, and collected 24h urine samples. Analytical determination of mycotoxins urinary biomarkers (n = 40) was performed by liquid chromatography coupled to a mass spectrometer detector. Preliminary results showed that exposure of Portuguese population to mycotoxins is a reality. Until now, results revealed the presence of seven mycotoxins and metabolites in 10% to 76% of analyzed samples. Considering the 24h-urinary volume, mean dietary excretion of deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZEN) was 35.8 and 1.9 mg/day, respectively. Regarding DON, results showed a good correlation between excreted biomarkers: DON-DON3GlcA (r = 0.7322) and DON-DON15GlcA (r = 0.7538), confirming the adequacy of these biomarkers. Further analysis regarding the excretion of other mycotoxins are still in course. This biomonitoring study generate, for the first time, reliable data regarding the exposure of Portuguese population to mycotoxins. These data are crucial to perform a more realistic risk assessment, contribute to the knowledge of determinants of this exposure and provides evidence-based data to support the revision of legislative limits concerning the occurrence of mycotoxins in food. Key messages: Portuguese population is exposed to mycotoxins, chemical food contaminants that may be harmful (carcinogenic, immunotoxic, mutagenic, teratogenic, hepatotoxic) for human health; Human biomonitoring studies provide realistic data on internal exposure at individual level, allowing a more accurate knowledge of the determinants of exposure to these contaminants.
- Human biomonitoring of multiple mycotoxins in biological samples of Portuguese ‘earlyMYCO‘ mother-and-child pairsPublication . Visintin, L.; García-Nicolás, M.; Dhondt, E.; Martins, C.; Assunção, R.; Serrano, D.; Alvito, P.; Vidigal, C.; Almeida, E.; Nunes, C.; De Saeger, S.; De Boevre, M.Early-life exposure to hazardous compounds is an emerging research field that urgently needs to be investigated, as an attempt to contribute to exposome research. Mycotoxins are naturally-occurring food contaminants and recent studies reported that Portuguese children (< 3 years) as well as the adult population are exposed to multiple mycotoxins through food consumption constituting a potential health threat. Considering the above, a project designated by earlyMYCO (Early-life exposure to MYCOtoxins and its impact on health) is being developed to assess the risk of early-life exposure to mycotoxins in biological samples. The earlyMYCO project included a mother-and-child longitudinal study, with three moments of observation, starting from pregnancy (24-28 weeks) and going through the child’ first months of life (1-6 months). This study was conducted in the Primary Health Care Group Lisboa Central (ACES) and aimed to determine multiple mycotoxins and its biomarkers in breast milk and urine samples from mother-and-child pairs. The sample preparation procedure for breast milk samples (n=9) consisted of a solid-phase extraction (SPE) purification followed by a liquid-liquid extraction (LLE); urine samples (n=50) were prepared by applying the QuEChERS technique. Liquid chromatography coupled to ESI+ Xevo TQ-S mass spectrometry (UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS) was used to determine multiple mycotoxin biomarkers of exposure in a targeted approach, namely aflatoxins B1, G1, B2, G2 and M1 (AFB1, AFG1, AFB2, AFG2, AFM1), ochratoxin A and alpha (OTA, OT-α), deoxynivalenol (DON), nivalenol (NIV), zearalenone (ZEN), alpha and beta zearalenol (α-ZEL, β-ZEL), fumonisins B1, B2, B3 and hydrolyzed B1 (FB1, FB2, FB3, HFB1), sterigmatocystin (STE), and aflatoxicol (AFL) using a previously optimized and validated method. All the breast milk samples analysed contained multiple mycotoxins to whom the children were exposed to. Unfortunately, due to covid-19 the number of samples was restricted. All the breastmilk samples resulted to be positive for FB1 and FB2 (exception for one sample) with concentrations between 0.16 and 34.76 ng/mL and 0.14 and 11.90 ng/mL, respectively; 5 samples resulted positive also for FB3 (1.09-4.97 ng/mL). DON was detected in one sample as well as NIV with concentrations of 0.75 and 3.26 ng/mL, respectively. Moreover, AFB1 and AFG1 were detected respectively in three samples (0.36-0.64 ng/mL) and one sample (below the LOD), while in two samples OTA was present below the LOD. Besides the targeted approach on urine samples, an untargeted LC-HRMS approach was launched on both sample matrices.
- Is Portuguese population exposed to Zearalenone? A human biomonitoring study as a contribution to the risk assessment of an endocrine disruptorPublication . Martins, Carla; Vidal, Arnau; De Saeger, S.; Assunção, R.; Nunes, Carla; Torres, D.; Goios, A.; Lopes, Carla; Alvito, Paula; De Boevre, MartheZearalenone (ZEN) is a mycotoxin that occurs widely in food commodities with particular incidence in cereals. Due to chemical structures similar to the endogenous oestrogen 17-β-estradiol, ZEN and its metabolites exert estrogenic toxicity. Therefore, it is crucial to assess ZEN exposure among the population and biomarker-driven research is a promising method to assess the human exposure. For this reason, ZEN metabolites such as α-zearalenol (α-ZEL), β-zearalenol (β-ZEL), α-zearalenal (α-ZAL), β-zearalenal (β-ZAL), zearalanone (ZAN) (phase I) and the glucuronides ZEN14GlcA, α-ZEL14GlcA and β-ZEL14Glc (phase II) were identified in biological fluids. With a potency factor of 60 relative to ZEN, α-ZEL is the most relevant metabolite in terms of human health. ZEN is characterized by a fast metabolism and excretion, therefore urine is the matrix commonly used to assess the exposure to this mycotoxin and its metabolites. To date, in Portugal, there is a lack of human studies to assess biomarkers of exposure to ZEN. Within the Scope of National Food, Nutrition, and Physical Activity Survey of the Portuguese General Population (2015-2016), 24h-urine samples and non-consecutive dietary assessments (two 24-hour recalls, 8-15 days apart) from 94 participants were included in the present study. Following a salt-assisted matrix extraction, urine samples were analyzed using LC-MS/MS for the simultaneous determination of ZEN, α-ZEL, β-ZEL, α-ZAL, β-ZAL, ZAN and ZEN14GlcA. ZEN and ZEN-14-GlcA were detected in 52% (36/69) and 14% (10/69) of the analyzed samples, with a mean concentration of 1.2 and 6.9 µg/L, respectively. The metabolites α-ZEL, β-ZEL, α-ZAL, β-ZAL, ZAN were not detected in the urine samples. Considering the 24h-urinary volume, the mean dietary excretion of ZEN and ZEN-14-GlcA was 1.5 and 7.8 µg/day, respectively. These data will allow the determination of Probably Daily Intake of zearalenone with more accuracy since it reflects the internal exposure of participants. The present biomonitoring study generates reliable data regarding the exposure of the Portuguese population to ZEN. These data are crucial to perform a more realistic risk assessment, contributing to the knowledge of determinants of this exposure.