food containing various toxins & anti-nutritional factor it causes various health damage & unavailbality of essential nutrients so thats way it have been removed from food by various methods & treatments

1. Anti-nutritional factors and toxins in
food
presented by
• Krishnegowda ks ,
• FST2014015,
• M.Sc. food technology,

2. Anti-nutritional factors
 Compounds or substances which act to reduce
nutrient intake, digestion, absorption and utilization
and may produce other adverse effects are referred
to as anti-nutrients or anti-nutritional factors.
 Secondary plant metabolites, also referred to as
anti-nutritional factors (ANFs), cause depressions in
growth performance and animal health due to a
variety of mechanisms including reducing protein
digestibility, binding to various nutrients or damaging
the intestinal wall, thereby lowering digestive
efficiency

3. Anti-nutritives can also cause
toxic effects by
 causing nutritional deficiencies.
 interference with the functioning and
utilization of nutrients.
Antinutritives can interfere with food
components before intake, during digestion in
the gastrointestinal tract, and after absorption
in the body

4. 1. type A: substances primarily interfering with the
digestion of proteins or the absorption and utilization of
amino acids antiproteins
2. type B: substances interfering with the absorption or
metabolic utilization of minerals  antiminerals
3. type C: substances that inactivate or destroy vitamins or
otherwise increase the need for vitamins  antivitamins
Type of Antinutritives

5. Antiproteins
 Protease inhibitor  proteins which inhibit proteolytic
enzymes by binding to the active sites of the enzymes.
 Source: many plants (soybean, potatoes), and in a few animal
tissues, eggs
 Stability:
heat labile : Autoclaving soybeans for 20 min at 115°C or 40
min at 107 to 108°C
Prior soaking in water for 12 to 24 h makes the heat treatment
more effective.
Example: Boiling at 100°C for 15 to 30 min is sufficient to
improve the nutritional value of soaked soybeans.

6. Continued….
heat resistant:
Pasteurization for 40 sec at 72°C destroys only 3 to 4%,
heating at 85°C for 3 sec destroy 44 to 55%,
heating at 95°C for 1 hr destroy 73% of the inhibitor.
Ex: trypsin inhibitor in milk, chymotrypsin inhibitor in
potatoes

7. Lectins
 Lectins is proteins that have highly specific binding sites
for carbohydrates.The majority of the lectins are
glycoproteins.
 Source: plants (legumes such as peanut, soybean, etc),
potato, banana, mango, and wheat germ.
 Mechanism: disrupt small intestinal metabolism and
damage small intestinal villi via the ability of lectins to
bind with brush border surfaces in the distal part of small
intestine.
 Reduction: Heat processing can reduce the toxicity of
lectins, low temperature or insufficient cooking may not
completely eliminate their toxicity, as some plant lectins
are resistant to heat.

8. Antiminerals
Substances interfering with the utilization of
essential minerals.
Source: vegetables, fruits, and cereal grains.
It includes; phytic acid, oxalic acid, dietary
fiber and gossypol

9. Phytic acid
 Phytic acid, the hexphosphoric ester of myo-inositol, is a strong
acid.
 Phytic acid has been shown to have a negative effect on iron
absorption in humans.
 Mechanism: Phytic acid prevents the complexation between iron
and gastroferrium, and iron-binding protein secreted in the stomach.

10.  Reduction:
 phytase activity can reduce the phytic acid level.
 vit D consumption Calcium absorption is influenced
not only by dietary phytate but also by vitamin D and
lipids. If vitamin D is limiting in the diet, calcium
absorption will be less efficient and the phytate effect will
become more pronounced.
 food processing: the activity of phytase drastically
reduces the phytate content of dough during bread-
making.
 Source Phytase: plants (soybeans, cereal grain)
 Phytase is an enzyme which catalyzes the
dephosphorylation of phytic acid.

11. Oxalic acid
 Oxalic acid (HOOC–COOH) is a strong acid, it can
induce toxic as well as antinutritive effects. To humans, it
can be acutely toxic (4 to 5 g to induce any toxic effect)
 Interference on calcium absorption
 Negative effects  oxalate/calcium ratio of foods
higher than 1 may decrease the calcium availability
Reduction: Consumption of foods rich in calcium, such
as dairy products and seafood, and enhanced vitamin D
intake

12. Dietary fiber
 food components derived from plant cell walls that are
not digested by the endogenous secretions of the human
digestive tract.
 Dietary fiber consists of pectic substances,
hemicelluloses, plant gums and mucilages, algal
polysaccharides, celluloses, and lignin.
 dietary fiber is a protective factor against many diseases
e.g., colon cancer.
 The various types of dietary fiber components have
many reactive groups, including –COOH, –HPO3H, –
OH, –SO3H and –NH2, to which metals, amino acids,
proteins, and even sugars can be bound.

13. There are different ways of binding to
dietary fiber
 First, fiber components of many food products act
like ion exchangers. Their binding capacity depends
on pH and ionic composition of the bowel contents.
 Secondly, amino acids and proteins are bound to
dietary fiber.
 A diet containing 15% cellulose can cause a
decrease in nitrogen absorption of as much as 8%.
Carrageenan's, which are highly indigestible, can
cause a decrease in nitrogen absorption of about
16%.

14. Gossypol
 This antinutritive is a yellow pigment present in all
parts of the cotton plant. The highest levels are found
in cottonseed.
 Gossypol exists in three tautomeric forms: phenolic
quinoid tautomer (I), aldehyde (II), and hemiacetal (III).
 It forms insoluble chelates with many essential metals,
such as iron, and binds to amino acid moieties in
proteins (esp. lysine)
 gossypol can reduce the availability of food proteins
and inactivate important enzymes.
 Processing removes 80 to 99% of the gossypol.

15. Antivitamins
 Mechanism: a group of naturally occurring
substances which :
- can decompose vitamins,
- form unabsorbable complexes with them,
- interfere with their digestive or metabolic
utilization.
 ascorbic acid oxidase, antithiamine factors,
and antipyridoxine factors

16. Ascorbic acid oxidase
 is a copper-containing enzyme that mediates :
1. oxidation of free ascorbic acid  dehydroascorbic
acid
2. dehydroascorbic acid  diketogulonic acid, oxalic
acid, and other oxidation products
 Source: fruits and vegetables such as cucumbers,
pumpkins, lettuce, bananas, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots,
and green beans.
 The enzyme is active between pH 4, about 38°C.
 Being an enzyme, ascorbic acid oxidase can be inhibited
effectively by blanching of fruits and vegetables.

17. Antithiamine factors
 Antithiamine factors can be distinguished as thiaminases,
tannins, and catechols.
 The interaction with vitamin B1 can lead to serious
neurotoxic effects as a result of vitamin B1 deficiency
 Source: Thiaminases are found in many fish species,
freshwater, saltwater species, and in certain species of
crab.
 Mechanism: interact with vitamin B1 (thiamine),
antithiamine factors are enzymes that split thiamine at the
methylene linkage

19. • Reduction: cooking destroys thiaminases in fish and
other sources.
• Antithiamine factors can also be of plant origin. Tannins,
occurring in a variety of plants, including tea  inhibition
of growth in animals and for inhibition of digestive
enzymes.
• Tannins are a complex of esters and ethers of various
carbohydrates. A component of tannins is gallic acid.

20. Tannins
 Tannins are a heterogeneous group of broadly
distributed substances of plant origin.
 Two types of tannins can be distinguished on the basis
of degradation behavior and botanical distribution,
namely hydrolyzable tannins and condensed tannins.
 The hydrolyzable tannins are gallic, digallic, and ellagic
acid esters of glucose or quinic acid.
 An example of this group is tannic acid, also known as
gallotannic acid, gallotannin. Tannic acid has been
reported to cause acute liver injury, i.e., liver necrosis
and fatty liver.

21. TanninsTannins
 The condensed tannins are flavonoids. They are
polymers of leukoanthocyanidins.
 The contribution of the tannins in tea, coffee, and cocoa
to the total tannin intake by humans is of particular
importance. Tea has the highest tannin content.
 Other important sources of tannins are grapes, grape
juice, and wines.
 A person may easily ingest 1–5g tannins per day.

22. Antipyridoxine factors
 A variety of plants and mushrooms contain pyridoxine (a form
of vitamin B6) antagonists
 The antipyridoxine factors have been identified as hydrazine
derivatives
 Source: mushroom
 Reduction: Immediate blanching after cleaning and cutting
can reduce the substance
 Mechanism: condensation of the hydrazines with the
carbonyl compounds pyridoxal and pyridoxal phosphate —
the active form of the vitamin — resulting in the formation of
inactive hydrazones

23. SaponinsSaponins
 Saponins are a heterogeneous group of naturally occurring
foam-producing triterpene or steroidal glycosides that occur
in a wide range of plants, including pulses and oil seeds
such as kidney bean, chickpea, soybean, groundnut, and
sunflower.
 saponins can affect metabolism in a number of ways as
follows: erythrocyte haemolysis, reduction of blood and liver
cholesterol, depression of growth rate.
 Reduction; Saponins from beans can reduced by Sprouting
& roasting.
Other antinutrional compounds

24. Cyanogenic glycosidesCyanogenic glycosides
 Some legumes like linseed, lima bean, kidney bean
and the red gram contain cyanogenic glycosides from
which Hydrogen Cyanide may be released by
hydrolysis.
 Hydrolysis occurs rapidly when the ground meal is
cooked in water and most of the liberated HCN is lost
by volatilization.
 HCN is very toxic at low concentration to animals. it
can cause dysfunction of the central nervous system,
respiratory failure and cardiac arrest.

25. GoitrogensGoitrogens
 Goitrogenic substances, which cause enlargement
of the thyroid gland, have been found in legumes
such as soybean and groundnut.
 They have been reported to inhibit the synthesis and
secretion of the thyroid hormones.
 Goitrogenic effect have been effectively
counteracted by iodine supplementation rather heat
treatment.

26. Chlorogenic acid
 Sunflower meal contains high levels of chlorogenic acid, a
tannin like compound that inhibits activity of digestive
enzymes including trypsin, chymotrypsin, amylase and
lipase.
 chlorogenic acid is a precursor of ortho- Quinone that occur
through the action of the plant enzyme polyphenol oxidase.
 These compounds then react with the polymerize lysine
during processing or in the gut.
 it can be controlled by dietary supplementation with methyl
donors such as choline and methionine. And readily
removed from sunflower seeds using aqueous extraction
methods

27. Main non-nutrient compounds and their main
beneficial and adverse effects
compounds Beneficial effects Adverse effects Main source
Protease
inhibitors
Anticarcinogenic. growth inhibition. Soya, cereals.
Amylase
inhibitors
Potentially therapeutic in
diabetes.
- Starch digestion. Cereals
Lectins help in obesity treatment. -nutrient absorption. Beans
Phytates Hypocholesterolaemic
effect.
- Bioavailability of
minerals.
Wheat bran, soya
Oxalates Anticarcinogenic. Same as for phytates Spinach,rhubarb.
tannins -risk of hormone related
cancer.
Astringent taste,
-food intake.
Tea, sorghum,
Rapeseed.
Lignans - Risk factors for
Menopause.
growth inhibition. Linseed
Saponins Hypocholesterolaemic
effect.
Bitter taste, -food
intake.
soybean,
groundnut.

28. Elimination of anti-nutritional substances by
technological treatments
 A number of treatments of food material are able to
eliminate some bioactive substances partially
including soaking, dry and moist heat treatment,
filtration, germination, fermentation and enzymatic
treatments.
 chemical and physical characteristics determine the
choice of appropriate treatment used to eliminate an
undesirable compound from food

29. Heat treatment
 Heat processing is widely accepted as an effective
means of inactivating the thermo-labile anti-nutritional
factors in food material.
 This improves protein quality by inactivating anti-
physiological factors, particularly trypsin inhibitor and
haemagglutinins and by unfolding the protein
structure.
 Heat treatment process includes boiling, autoclaving,
pressure cooking, extrusion cooking, toasting

30. Cooking (boiling)Cooking (boiling)
 Cooking generally inactivates heatsensitive anti-
nutritive factors such as trypsin and chymotrypsin
inhibitors and volatile compounds.
 Cooking for 60 minutes at 1000C was sufficient to
inactivate over 90% of the trypsin inhibitor activity in
food materials.

31. Autoclaving
 Autoclaving cooking under pressure includes the
food materials are autoclaved for 30 minutes at
125oC and 15 Ib pressure, thermo-labile inhibitory
substances such as cyanogenic glycosides,
saponins, terpenoids and alkaloids could be
eliminated from the food materials.
Pressure cooking
 the food material is cooked under pressure for 30
minutes to remove trypsin inhibitors in food.

32. microwave treatment
 microwave treatment is the heats food by passing
microwave radiation through it. Microwave ovens use
frequencies 2.45 (GHz) and a wavelength is 12.2
centimetres for 10 minutes to eliminates the trypsin inhibitor
and haemagglutinating activity in food.
Extrusion cooking
 The cooking process takes place within the extruder where
the product produces its own friction and heat due to
the pressure generated (10–20 bar). The process can induce
both protein denaturation and starch gelatinization, complete
inactivation of haemagglutinins in food materials

33. Soaking
 Soaking could be one of the processes to remove soluble
antinutritional factors, seeds were soaked in water at 22oC
for 18 h to decreases in trypsin inhibitor activity in the food.
Germination (sprouting)
 Germination has been documented to be an effective
treatment to remove some anti-nutritional factors in legumes
by mobilizing secondary metabolic compounds which are
thought to function as reserve nutrients.
 Germination can lower the phytate content in legume seeds
depending upon the type of bean and germinating conditions

34. Main anti-nutritional factor are eliminated
by particular process are
Bioactive substance Commonly used elimination processes
Enzyme inhibitors Heat treatment
Phytic acid Enzymatic degradation, germination, and
fermentation
Oxalate Cooking, dehulling
Phenolic compounds Dehulling
Saponins Sprouting
Lectins Heat treatment

35. Toxins in Foods
 Toxin is a poison of biological origin, specifically a
protein molecule produced by a plant or animal.
 Most toxins in foods are natural and are made by
microbes.
 Toxins from bacteria are large protein molecules,
Mycotoxins from molds are much smaller.
 Interact with enzymes, cellular receptors
 Cleave essential protein residues in DNA replication

36. Toxin CharacteristicsToxin Characteristics
 Non replicative
 Non infectious
 Non communicable
 Non transmittable (human to human)
 Nonvolatile
 Colorless
 Odorless, and
 Tasteless

37. main toxins in foods
 neurotoxin
 enterotoxin
 plant tissue toxin
 fungal toxin
 Marine toxins

38. Botulism
 Etiological agent: Clostridium botulinum
 Reservoir : soil, mud, water, and intestinal tact of animals.
 Toxins A-G; A,B,E, and F cause human disease.
 Toxicity = 1 mg/kg
 Approximately 500 g is enough to kill the human.
 Mechanism of action
 Blocks release of acetylcholine at neuromuscular junction in the
peripheral and central nervous system.
 Incubation period: 2 hours-8 days
 Symptoms ; nausea, vomiting, diarrhea , abdominal pain,
dry mouth, weakness, constipation

39. Enterotoxin
 Etiological agent: Staphylococcus aureus
 Reservoir: anterior nares of humans, hands and skin
 toxins A-F
 Toxicity-less than 1 mg can cause illness
 Incubation period: 1-7 hours (usually 2-4 hours)
 Symptoms
 Sudden onset of nausea, excessive salivation, vomiting,
retching, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, dehydration,
sweating, weakness.

40. Ricin ToxinRicin Toxin
 Etiological agent: Ricinus Communes
 Castor bean plant
 Toxicity-lethal dose = 3-5 mg/kg (ingestion)
 Mechanism of action
 Interferes with protein chain elongation leading to cellular
death (cytotoxin)
 Incubation period: 1-3 days
 Symptoms
 Early: burning sensation in mouth, nausea, vomiting
(blood), abdominal pain, diarrhea.
 Death due to severe electrolyte imbalance and fluid loss.

41. Marine toxinsMarine toxins
 Very fast acting GI and neurological symptoms
 Saxitoxin
• Paralytic shellfish poisoning.
• Sodium channel blocker.
 Ciguatoxin
• Reef fish including grouper, snapper and mackerel.
• GI, itching, cardiovascular disorder, CNS dysfunction.
 Conotoxin
• Paralytic poison of Pacific cone snail
• Blocks nerve impulse from nerve to muscle

42. Fungal toxins
Fungal species Toxin Foods it may contaminate
Aspergillus flavus aflatoxins corn, peanuts, copra
Aspergillus parasaticus aflatoxins some nuts
Fusarium moniliforme fumonisins corn
Claviceps pupurea ergot alkaloids rye
Penicillium verrucosum ochratoxins barley

43. Target Organs of Some Mycotoxins
Mycotoxins Target Organ
Aflatoxins liver
Ochratoxins A kidney
Zearalenone Female genital tract

44. Processing effects on Mycotoxins
 Mycotoxins
 Mycotoxins(toxins produced by molds) are
completely destroyed at their melting point, which
is generally at high temperatures:
• 164C (327F) for Zearalenone
• 170C (338F) for Rubratoxia.
 When roasting peanuts, the toxicity of aflatoxinB1 is
reduced by 70%, and that of aflatoxin-B2 by 45%.
Thus, heat treatment cannot be considered as a
satisfactory means to eliminate Mycotoxins

45. SummarySummary
 Non-nutrient compounds are one of the largest group of
secondary metabolites present in the plant kingdom.
 This class of natural products has a wide range of biological
activity, ranging from beneficial to adverse effects in both
plants and animals.
 Currently non-nutrient chemicals are substances that are
found in food that could potentially affect human health but
are not identified as nutrients. Non- nutrients can be found
in food as texture and food physic-chemistry, color, taste or
smell.

46. References
 Adlercreutz H, Honjo H, Higashi A, Fotsis T, Hamalainen
E,Hasagawa T & Okada H (1988) Lignan and phytoestrogen
excretion in Japanese consuming traditional
diet.Scandinavian Journal of Clinical Laboratory
Investigations 48, Suppl., 190.
 Bardocz S, Grant G & Pusztai A (1996) The effect of
phytohaemagglutinin at different dietary concentrations on
the growth, body composition and plasma insulin of the rat.
British Journal of Nutrition 76, 613–626.
 Bender AE (1983) Hemagglutinins (lectins) in beans. Food
Chemistry 11, 309–320.

47. Cont.
 Ferguson LR & Harris PJ (1999) Protection against
cancer by wheat bran: role of dietary fibre and
phytochemicals. European Journal of Cancer
Prevention 8, 17–25.
 Milgate J & Roberts DCK (1995) The nutritional and
biological significance of saponins. Nutrition
Research 15, 1223–1249.
 Montgomery RD (1969) Cyanogens. In Toxic
Constituents of Plant Foodstuffs, pp. 143–157 [IE
Liener, editor]. New York: Academic Press

48. Thank you