Fumonisins and human health.

Fumonisins are mycotoxins produced by Fusarium moniliforme that are prevalent in corn, sorghum, millet and other agricultural products. It is possible that fumonisins are aetiological agents in human oesophageal cancers. The International Agency for Research on Cancer have designated toxins derived from F. moniliforme as group 2B (possibly carcinogenic to humans). Fumonisins are hepatotoxic, nephrotoxic, atherogenic, immunosuppressive and embryotoxic in experimental animal systems. Methods of detoxifying fumonisin-contaminated foods are required. Fumonisins have potent, apparently specific, inhibitory effects on sphingolipid biosynthesis and as such are valuable in studies of the complex biochemical events involved in sphingolipid metabolism and function. Fumonisins may serve as templates for therapeutic agents for treating diseases related to sphingolipid turnover (lysosomal storage disease), such as Farber's disease.