OT: Mycotoxins in cereal--damages your intestines

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Does cereal damage your intestines?

May 04, 2009

Pintona, P, J Nougayredeb, J Del Rioa, C Morenoa, DE Marina, L Ferrierd, A

Bracarensee, M Kolf-Clauwf and IP Oswald. 2009. The food contaminant

deoxynivalenol, decreases intestinal barrier permeability and reduces claudin

expression. Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology doi:10.1016/j.taap.2009.03.003.

Synopsis by Negin P. , Ph. D

A fungal toxin commonly found in grain and cereal food crops can damage human

and animal intestines.

Our

morning cereal may be setting us up for a fungus invasion that lowers

the protective actions of the intestines, leading to illness or

intestinal problems..

A new research study describes how one of

these toxins can damage the intestinal tract by changing its defensive

protein layer. These changes weakened the intestinal barrier and

allowed more bacteria to cross through the intestinal wall.

The

intestine acts as a first barrier to stop harmful material such as

pathogens, toxins and toxic substances from entering the body.

This

study reports how the fungal toxin deoxynivalenol (DON) can affect the

intestines and potentially make people–and farm animals–sick. The

results may help explain findings from other studies that show

Salmonella infection accelerates in mice that are fed grains containing

similar mycotoxins. The same protien changes observed in the study are also

associated with colitis and have been found in dog intestinal cells exposed to

bacteria.

Fungi toxins are called mycotoxins. They have minimal risk at low levels.

However, too much of some can cause death, cancer, slow growth and disease

resistance.

DON is one of the most commonly found mycotoxin of its kind in cereal and grain

crops (wheat, barley, maize and their

by-products) from Europe and North America. DON is associated with

diarrhea, vomiting, internal bleeding and ultimately death. Long term,

low dose toxicity has symptoms such as weight loss, nutrient

absorption, neuroendocrine changes and immune problems.

Globally, exposure to mycotoxins

is widespread. As much as 25 percent of the world's crop production is

contaminated with fungal toxins known to be harmful to human and animal

health.

In this study, a team of scientist from France, Brazil

and Romania used several intestinal cell models to investigate the

biochemical changes resulting from exposure DON. They also harvested

organs from piglets and witnessed the weakening of the intestinal

barrier following exposure for 2 hours.

The researchers found that less than half the amount of mycotoxins

that are detected in raw cereals (as reported by US Federal Grain

Inspection Service and European Union surveys) made the intestinal wall

more permeable to large molecules and bacteria. The higher the dose the

more damage was done.

http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/newscience/does-cereal-damage-your-in\

testine