Aflatoxin is included in a class of organic compounds called polyketides. Polyketides provide the building blocks for both carcinogens and some of the most significant drugs. ‘The toxin wreaks havoc on a cancer-preventing gene in humans called p53. Without p53 protecting the body, aflatoxin can compromise immunity, interfere with metabolism, and cause severe malnutrition and cancer.’

Scientists have finally found how aflatoxin causes liver cancer in humans. Thus, they are now more equipped to develop inhibitors and a new chemoprevention approach.

Laws regulating the prevention of aflatoxin are either lax or nonexistent. This is why 4.5 billion people in developing countries are said to be chronically exposed to vast amounts of it. These levels of exposure are ‘often hundreds of times higher than safe levels.’ The toxin is deadly. The combination of aflatoxin and hepatitis B virus exposure in such countries as China, Vietnam, and South Africa ‘increases the likelihood of liver cancer occurrence by 60 times, and toxin-related cancer causes up to 10 percent of all deaths in those nations.’

Aflatoxin is an ‘unavoidable food contaminant’ but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, for instance, sets maximum allowable limits. Aflatoxin contaminates nuts and grains during the periods of pre-harvesting or storage. The toxin which is produced by molds on nuts and grains ‘can cause liver cancer if consumed in large quantities.’

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Via Science Centric