Studies on Aflatoxin, Prenatal Exposure and Its Toxicosis in Adamawa Sate, North East of Nigeria

Of the known mycotoxins, the most important in relation to direct hazard to human health are the aflatoxins produced by a large number of Aspergillus spp. To determine the level of exposure of aflatoxin from mother to child and its mode of transfer. 70 pregnant women in the labor ward of The Federal Medical Centre Yola were investigated for their aflatoxin content by using the velasco fluorotoxinmeter which comprised of 89 samples of amniotic fluid, 213 of serum from maternal blood and 211 serums from neonatal cord blood; 57 of those were controls. The aflatoxin values of G1, G2, and M2 above 20 ppb were obtained in 66 samples of the amniotic fluid (74.1%); 133 from venous maternal blood (62.4%) and 142 from neonatal cord blood (67.2%). This results is suggestive that aflatoxin present in maternal blood crosses the transplacental barrier and accumulates in the fetus which further explains the high concentration of aflatoxin in the amniotic fluid and the in - utero exposure to these toxins.