Exposure to Mycotoxins and Its Importance in Public Health

There are a wide variety of toxic compounds that are produced by fungi, known as mycotoxins, which are extremely important because they are found as contaminants in food for human and animal consumption, mycotoxicoses are diseases caused by mycotoxins, exposure to it occurs by ingestion, by skin contact and inhalation, which cause adverse damage to human and animal health, these effects cost millions of dollars annually in global losses in human and animal health, as well as in agricultural products, some mycotoxins of importance in public health they include aflatoxins, trichothecenes, fumonists, ochratoxins, among others.

Objective: The objetive was describe the state of the art on exposure to microtoxins and its importance in public health. The state of the art allows us to conclude that exposure to food contaminated with this type of toxin.

Methodology: A search was carried out in information sources indexed in Crossref, Google scholar Web of Science and in some specific journals such as toxins, Biomedical Journal, and Public Health Journal, using the keywords: mycotoxins, mycotoxigenic foods, aflatoxins, aflatoxigenic foods.

Results and Conclusions: Has a negative impact on public health. In conclusion it is also urgent to search for alternatives to inhibit the growth of said toxigenic fungi and guarantee food quality, free of mycotoxins. and therefore, risks to human health.