Dr Christiane K. Faeste from the Veterinary Institute, Ås, Norway, will give a seminar at INCI on Friday 21 October at 11 AM.
Title: "Mycotoxins: Old foes - New finds".
Invited by: Dominique MASSOTTE, INCI

This conference is part of a French-Norwegian cooperation programme Åsgard recherche+ aimed at creating a network to extend the collaboration initiated in the framework of the AURORA DONNER on the neurotoxicity of the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol. Our objective is now to establish contacts in order to create an extended research consortium to study important mycotoxins present in food and feed, individually or in mixtures, including additional relevant parameters to assess their neurotoxic effects and their contribution to the development of neuropsychiatric disorders and pain.

Our work focuses on the biology of fungi and different aspects of mycotoxin chemistry. Mycotoxins are products of fungal secondary metabolism, i.e. part of fungal metabolism that is not essential for cell growth and maintenance. They belong to natural products that elicit a toxic response in vertebrates. They may be hepatotoxic, nephrotoxic, immunosuppressive or neurotoxic. Important groups of mycotoxins include ergot alkaloids or trichothecenes.