I did a little bit of research on aflatoxin a while back. This is from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aflatoxin
Quote:
No animal species is immune to the acute toxic effects of aflatoxins including humans; however, humans have an extraordinarily high tolerance for aflatoxin exposure and rarely succumb to acute aflatoxicosis.
Chronic, subclinical exposure does not lead to as dramatic of symptoms as acute aflatoxicosis. Children, however, are particularly affected by aflatoxin exposure which leads to stunted growth and delayed development.
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One thing I found rather interesting (also from Wikipedia):
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Studies have shown that concurrent infection with the Hepatitis B virus (HBV) during aflatoxin exposure increases the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). As HBV interferes with the ability of hepatocytes to metabolize aflatoxins, an aflatoxin M1-DNA conjugate exists for a longer period of time in the liver, increasing the probability of damage to oncogenes such as p53.
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The interesting part is how it relates to my raspberry research. This from
http://www.jonbarron.org/documents/brellagic.htm :
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Red raspberry ellagitannins prevent destruction of the P53 gene by cancer cells. P53 prevents mutagenic activity in cervical cells.
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