Mycotoxin Contamination of Stored Maize in Kenya and the Associated Fungi
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Date
2020
Authors
Birgen, Jonah K
Cheruiyot, Richard C
Akwa, Teh Exodus
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Research Gate
Abstract
In Kenya, maize is a staple food and is stored after harvest as a source of food and for sale. From the stored maize, the
surplus from that meant for food is sold by some farmers to earn income. The quality of the maize in store depends on
the storage facility. Poorly constructed and unmaintained structures may allow leakage of water and entry by rodents
and insects which may mechanically damage the maize by nibbling and holing respectively, thus predisposing the grains
to fungal infection. Some of these fungi can contaminate the maize with mycotoxins. The storage fungi on maize in
Kenya and the probable mycotoxin their produce were reviewed for the period of 2000 to 2015 (15-years). This review
established that the most frequently isolated maize storage fungi belonged to the genera Aspergillus followed by
Fusarium and lastly Penicillium. Further it was established that the most frequently reported mycotoxin was aflatoxin
which was most prevalent in the Eastern region of Kenya. Fumonisin was also reported but had the highest occurrence
in the Western region. The variation in the occurrence of these toxins could be due the differences in the agro ecological
zones of the regions. It was further noted that although records indicated that other species of storage fungi were
present in maize their respective mycotoxins were not established. Hence it is mandatory to carry out a complete census
of storage fungi of maize in Kenya and establish whether these fungi produce the expected respective mycotoxins. This
is paramount because of the health implications associated with the mycotoxin ingestion.
Description
Article
Keywords
Fungal Toxin, Review, Storage, Zea mays
Citation
Birgen, J. K., Cheruiyot, R. C., & Akwa, T. E. (2020). Mycotoxin contamination of stored maize in Kenya and the associated fungi. Journal of Plant Pathology Research, 2(1), 7-13.