Aflatoxin Health Dictionary

Infection caused by the opportunistic saprophytic fungus, Aspergillus. Can include the effects of aflatoxin which is formed by the fungi growing on mouldy foods such as peanuts and which can be associated with cancer of the liver.... aspergillosis

Substances that bring about a malignant change in body cells. Sources include: pollutants, asbestos, petroleum products, tobacco, Azo food dyes, nickel, X-rays, nitrites in preserved meats, the Pill and hormone replacement therapy. Direct-acting carcinogens may arise in stored food due to contamination by micro-organisms such as aflatoxin in mould-contaminated peanuts. They stimulate chemical change resulting in free-radicals. See: FREE-RADICALS. ... carcinogens

Criteria for manufacture of herbal preparations are efficacy, safety and purity. To ensure Government requirement, manufacturers test all incoming crude material by first placing it in quarantine, an area specially set aside for quality control. Material is inspected against standard samples by sight, taste, touch and microscopic analysis. Samples are taken for chemical reaction in a laboratory equipped for this purpose.

Herbal preparations are required to meet the same high pharmaceutical standards as conventional medicine.

Today’s exacting standards ensure an absence of sugar, yeast, gluten, milk derivatives, cornstarch, wheat, artificial colours, flavours, and preservatives.

The Department of Health expects manufacturers to standardise active constituents where possible and to ensure purity by eliminating from crude material pesticide residues, aflatoxins and heavy metal contaminants. Chromotography, in one of its forms (thin-layer, gas or high-pressure liquid) are used to assess purity, potency, accurate identity and contamination by lead, cadmium, etc. A Geiger-counter reveals the presence or absence of radio-activity. Each plant has its own signature or ‘fingerprint’ showing density and other important characteristics.

Failure to meet Government requirements empowers a purchaser to return the whole consignment to the supplier. Thus, a high standard of manufacturing practice is maintained.

See: Medicines Act leaflet 39, Revised Guidelines DHSS Nov 1985 ... manufacturing

Any agent capable of causing cancer. Chemicals are the largest group of carcinogens. Major types include polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which occur in tobacco smoke, pitch, tar fumes, and soot. Exposure to PAHs may lead to cancer of the respiratory system or skin. Certain aromatic amines used in the chemical and rubber industries may cause bladder cancer after prolonged exposure.

The best-known physical carcinogen is high-energy radiation, such as nuclear radiation and X-rays. Exposure may cause cancerous changes in cells, especially in cells that divide quickly: for example, changes in the precursors of white blood cells in the bone marrow causes leukaemia. The risk depends on the dosage and duration of exposure. Over many years, exposure to ultraviolet radiation in sunlight can cause skin cancer. Another known physical carcinogen is asbestos (see asbestos-related diseases).

Only a few biological agents are known to cause cancer in humans.

SCHISTOSOMA HAEMATOBIUM, one of the blood flukes responsible for schistosomiasis, can cause cancer of the bladder; and ASPERGILLUS FLAVUS, a fungus that produces the poison aflatoxin in stored peanuts and grain, is believed to cause liver cancer.

Viruses associated with cancer include strains of the human papilloma virus, which are linked to cancer of the cervix; the hepatitis B virus, which is linked to liver cancer; and a type of herpes virus which is associated with Kaposi’s sarcoma.... carcinogen

Simple parasitic life-forms that include mushrooms, toadstools, yeasts, and moulds. Disease-causing fungi can be divided into 2 groups: filamentous fungi and yeasts. Filamentous fungi are made up of branching threads known as hyphae, which form a network called a mycelium. Mushrooms and toadstools are the reproductive structures (known as fruiting bodies) of a filamentous fungus that has spread in dead matter or soil. Yeasts are single-celled organisms.

Most fungi are either harmless or beneficial to human health, but some can cause illness and disease. The fruiting bodies of some fungi contain toxins that can cause poisoning if eaten (see mushroom poisoning). Certain fungi infect food crops and produce toxins that can cause food poisoning. The best known of these is a fungus that infects cereals and produces ergot, a toxin that constricts blood vessels; and another that grows on peanuts and produces aflatoxin, a poison and carcinogen. The inhaled spores of some fungi can cause allergic alveolitis, a persistent allergic reaction in the lungs. Fungal spores are sometimes responsible for other allergic disorders such as allergic rhinitis and asthma. Some fungi are able to invade and form colonies in the lungs, in the skin, or sometimes in various different tissues throughout the body, leading to conditions that range from mild irritation to severe, even fatal, widespread infection (see fungal infections) and illness. (See also candidiasis.)... fungi

(hepatocellular carcinoma) n. the most common primary malignant tumour of the liver. In Western countries patients with chronic hepatitis B or C or cirrhosis are at significantly increased risk of developing hepatoma. The higher incidence of hepatomas in non-Western societies (particularly the Far East and Africa) is partly due to increased hepatitis B endemicity but other factors contribute, including exposure to fungi (see aflatoxin) and other ingested toxins. Hepatomas often synthesize *alpha-fetoprotein, which is a useful serum tumour marker. The treatment options depend on the number and size of hepatomas and the staging of the disease. They include surgical resection, chemotherapy, *chemoembolization, local ablative treatment, and liver transplantation.... hepatoma