Toxicity of metabolites produced by the "Alternaria".

The presence of toxin-producing fungi in foodstuffs and other agricultural commodities is well established (1-3). The Alternaria, Aspergilli, Fusaria and Penicillia have been repeatedly implicated as the principal coinhabitants of products in which toxicity has been demonstrated (4,5). Numerous compounds have been isolated that can explain the toxicity of the Aspergilli, Fusaria, and Penicillia. Among the more important of these are the aflatoxins, patulin, penicillic acid, and sterigmatocystin, because of their carcinogenic potential; the ochratoxins, citrinin, cyclopiazonic acid, and the estrogenic zearalenone because of a variety of high toxicities and their frequent appearance in moldy foodstuffs. By comparison, toxic components of the Alternaria have been studied to only a small extent. The Alternaria are found on wheat, barley, oats, sorghum, corn, and peanuts (4,6,7). Animal feeds and silage that contain these crops, as well as alfalfa and grass hay are also good sources (4). The Alternaria are plant pathogens and thus can contaminate food through field infection as well as through storage. Black spot of Japanese pear, brown