**8. Conclusions**

*Mycotoxins and Food Safety*

**150**

**Figure 4.**

*Zinc content in selected tissue of the mice (n = 5) after oral administration of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) (300 mg/kg) for 14 consecutive days. Data represent mean±S.E.M. of three animals. \**p *< 0.05, compared to* 

dose-related decrease in the bodyweight of high-dose male rats at the fourth, fifth, and seventh weeks was observed; however, no significant dose-dependent changes in the female rats. Further hematological assays showed a significant increase (p < 0.01) in cholesterol in the both high-dose male and female rats. A significant increase (p < 0.01) in alkine phosphotase (ALP) was also indicated for the high-dose female rats. The authors reported no-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) and lowestobserved-adverse-effect level (LOAEL) as 30 mg/kg BW/day and 125 mg/kg BW/ day, respectively. Treatment with NPs of diameters ranging from 25 to 80 nm at a dose of 5000 mg/kg body weight altered the levels of alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase, blood urea nitrogen, and lactate dehydrogenase, along with lesions on the liver and kidneys of female mice. Myocardial damage associated with groups showing a notable changes in serum LDH and alpha-HBDH levels compared to the control experiment. Also, a biodistribution test disclosed that TiO2 was predominantly retained in the liver, spleen, kidneys, and lung tissues, indicating TiO2-NPs were transported via endocytosis to other tissues and organs after their uptake by the gastrointestinal tract [221]. Contradictory finding was reported by Warheit et al. [222] where no adverse effects were manifested after orally fed rats with TiO2-NPs. However, the NOAEL on rats exposed for 90 days was >1000 mg/kg BW/day. In a similar study, Sharma et al. [223] divided male Swiss albino mice into three groups (group 1—vehicle control (water); group 2—ZnO nanoparticles (300 mg/kg body weight); group 3— ZnO nanoparticles (50 mg/kg)) and fed them with 50 and 300 mg/kg b.wt. ZnO-NPs for 14 consecutive days. ZnO-NPs induced oxidative stress, which damage the DNA and apoptosis in the mouse liver. Additionally, elevated levels of ALT and ALP serum and subsequent pathological lesions were observed in the treated mice. Lastly, at a higher dose (300 mg/kg) of ZnO-NPs, a significant (p < 0.05) induction of lipid peroxidation was observed in the liver, brain, and kidney (**Figure 4**) of the treated mice in comparison with the control test. Cho et al. [224] discovered ZnO-NPs had a higher absorption efficiency than TiO2-NPs in rats. ZnO-NP concentrations in the liver and kidney were significantly higher compared to the control, whereas with TiO2- NPs, no dramatic increase was detected in the sampled organs. In the feces, very high and low concentrations of Ti and Zn were detected, respectively. The concentration of ZnO in the spleen and brain was minimally elevated. Similarly, Ti concentrations were not drastically increased in urine; in contrast, it was Zn levels, that remarkably

*control. Modified with permission from ref 4495441125809.*

The ability of NPs to suppress the synthesis of mycotoxins in fungi and other microorganisms could be a breakthrough to curbe the issue of aflatoxin prevalence worldwide. NPs displayed excellent antifungal activity against important fungal species which contaminate grains with toxins during storage. The concentration, volume, type, and illumination (sunlight) significantly influenced the biostatic activity of NPs. Hence, these factors should carefully be considered when applying NPs in grain storage. The proposed NPs are environmentally friendly and pose no threat to consumer compared to some conventional methods of grain preservation. Several ex vivo, in vivo, and in vitro studies supports these claims. Moreover, NPs are biocompatible to the human system hence their usage in the food industry. Despite safety of NPs guaranteed by international safety organizations such as the Food Safety Authority, routine testing is required to understand the impact it has on grain nutritional, sensory, and other physicochemical parameters.
