Author
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Meredith, Filmore |
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Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter Publication Acceptance Date: 4/5/1999 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: Fusarium moniliforme or F. proliferatum are fungi found on corn and corn products that produce toxic substances called fumonisins B1, B2, B3, and B4 (FB1, FB2, FB3, and FB4). These toxins are health risks to animals and humans. It is very difficult to separate these found toxins into very pure forms, which is necessary for biological studies of their toxicity. This study reports on how the toxins are produced, now the toxins are obtained from the fungus, and ways to get the 4 toxins into a pure form. Corn or rice and water are sterilized. The fungus is added to the flasks and allowed to stand for 8 weeks. The fumonisins are removed from the fungus mixture in the flask by extracting with a special solvent. The special solvent containing the FB1, FB2, FB3, and FB4 is placed onto a special separator-type column. This separatator-type column separates the mixture into FB1, FB2, and a mixture of FB3 and FB4. Several other special separator-type columns are used to purify FB1. A special rotary separator is used to purify FB2. The fumonisin mixture FB3 and FB4 are separated and purified by an additional series of separator-type columns. It is the utilization of the special separator-type columns and the special rotary-type separator that allows the four toxic fumonisins to be obtained in very pure form, which can be used in biological studies designed to determine the toxic effects on plants and animals. Technical Abstract: No abstract - Book Chapter "Isolation and Characterization of Fumonisins", IN: METHODS OF ENZYMOLOGY, Elsevier Science, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. |
