South Asian Journal of Experimental Biology Global Impact Factor: 0.495
A peer-reviewed online international journal (eISSN: 2230-9799) http://sajeb.org
Index Copernicus value: 5.6
Call for Papers for Special Issue-2014 TITLE: TOWARDS BETTER CONTROL OF FUNGI AND MYCOTOXINS IN AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES AND FOODSTUFFS AIMS & SCOPE
Fungal colonisation of agricultural commodities and foodstuffs is a major cause of quality deterioration, leading to economic losses and constituting a potential human health hazard. Toxigenic fungi are ubiquitous microorganisms, able to produce a large number of toxic secondary metabolites “mycotoxins” on a wide range of food and under different conditions. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, about 25% of food is contaminated with mycotoxins. The occurrence of these toxins has been extensively reported in foods which are regarded as a potential hazard to public health even when the contamination level is low. Level of mycotoxins in foods has been controlled by regulations and standards to insure the highest possible degree of protection to consumers and preventive measures have been recommended. These include the implementation of quality management system such as good agriculture practice, HACCP, manufacturing and post-harvest practices to control the growth of toxigenic fungi and consequently reduce food contamination with mycotoxin to “as low as reasonably achievable” (ALARA) levels. Since complex interaction of environmental factors greatly influence the growth and mycotoxin production by toxigenic moulds, it is difficult to effectively achieve such a control of exposure. Management risk of mycotoxins is a great challenge for scientists, farmers and agro-food industries. The present special issue on “Towards better control of fungi and mycotoxins in agricultural commodities and foodstuffs” will be focusing on the recent data and development in the fields of fungi and related mycotoxins. The toxic effects of these metabolites on human and animal health are complex even if toxicological characteristics of different mycotoxins were extensively studied worldwide. The natural toxigenic fungi associated with foods are dominated by Aspergillus, Fusarium, Penicillium, Alternaria and Claviceps species. Prevention of fungal contamination and growth of toxigenic fungi is the effective strategy to manage natural occurrence of mycotoxins in crops and foodstuffs. During the last decades, control of plant diseases has been accomplished through the use of synthetic fungicides. However, toxicity of these chemical compounds, long-term persistence of their residues, resistance of various fungal species against different chemical classes of fungicides and their stimulatory effects on mycotoxin production have been described. Recently, some studies have shown that essential oils may be an alternative to the chemical fungicides and can control spore germination, growth of toxigenic fungi and/or biosynthesis of mycotoxins. Recent studies in the fields of fungi and toxic secondary metabolites are important in developing realistic systems to control the risk associated to mycotoxin contamination. In this special issue, original research and articles review with regards to the fungi, mycotoxins, prevention of fungal and/or mycotoxin contamination. Potential topics include, but not limited to:
Fungal contamination of crops, agricultural commodities and foods Fungal ecology and diversity Identification of mycotoxigenic fungi Prevention of fungal contamination
Mycotoxins and their toxicological effects Effect of chemical and natural antifungal agents on control of fungi and mycotoxin production Analytical methods of mycotoxins Prevention of mycotoxin contamination Food safety HACCP and mycotoxins Fungi and good agricultural practices
This special issue will accept research articles, short communications, reviews/mini-reviews and success stories related to research works in the above mentioned areas.
GUEST EDITOR
Professor Dr. Amina Bouseta Laboratoire d’agroalimentaire et sécurité sanitaire des aliments Faculté des sciences Dhar El mehraz Université Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah B.P. 1796 Atlas Fès, Morocco Email:
[email protected] Note: Manuscripts may be submitted either through online submission system (OSS) or email (
[email protected]) as single MS word file. Necessary instructions for online submission are available at http://sajeb.org/index.php/sajeb/about/submissions. When submitted online, authors are requested to refer the special issue in cover letter.
Submission Deadline: 31 October 2014
***************************************************************************************************************** ABOUT THE JOURNAL
South Asian Journal of Experimental Biology (SAJEB) is an online platform for the advancement and rapid dissemination of scientific knowledge in the field of biological sciences. The major emphasis is laid on inter-disciplinary nature of the work. The main criteria for acceptance of the articles are novelty, clarity, and significance as relevant to a better understanding of the biological Sciences. All the articles published in SAJEB are peer-reviewed by eminent international experts in their respective fields. Young researchers from developing countries are specially encouraged and supported for publication. SAJEB has been included in the ISI master list of journals of Thomson Reuters under Zoological Record. The SAJEB is also covered by CABI (UK), INDEX COPERNICUS INTERNATIONAL (Poland,) CAS (ACS, USA), DOAJ, Journal TOCs (ICBL, Edinburgh), DORJI and Indian Science Abstracts (ISA, NISCAIR). *****************************************************************************************************************
