Browsing by Author "Kumi, J."
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Item Aflatoxins and fumonisins contamination of home-made food (weanimix) from cereal-legume blends for children(Ghana medical journal, 2014-09) Kumi, J.; Mitchell, M.J.; Asare, G.A.; Dotse, E.; Kwaa, F.; Phillips, T.D.; Ankrah, N.-A.BACKGROUND: Weanimix is an important food for children in Ghana. Mothers are trained to prepare homemade weanimix from beans, groundnuts and maize for their infants. Groundnuts and maize are prone to aflatoxin contamination while fumonisin contaminates maize. Aflatoxin, is produced by the Asperguillus fungi while fumonisin, is produced by Fusarium fungi. These mycotoxins occur in tropical areas worldwide due to favorable climate for their growth.OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to determine the levels of aflatoxin and fumonisin in homemade weanimix in the Ejura-Sekyedumase district in the Ashanti Region of Ghana.METHODS: Thirty six homemade weanimix samples (50g each) were collected from households. Aflatoxin and fumonisin were measured using a fluorometric procedure described by the Association of Official Analytical Chemist (AOAC official method 993.31, V1 series 4).RESULTS: Aflatoxin and fumonisin were detected in all 36 samples, range 7.9-500ppb. Fumonisin levels range: 0.74-11.0ppm). Thirty (83.3%) of the thirty six samples were over the action limit of 20ppb for aflatoxin with an overall mean of 145.2 ppb whiles 58.3% of the samples had fumonisins above the action limit of 4 ppm with an overall mean of 4.7 ppm.CONCLUSION: There were significant aflatoxin and fumonisin contamination of homemade weanimix. Children fed on this nutritional food were being exposed to unacceptable levels of aflatoxin and fumonisin. Therefore there is a critical need to educate mothers on the dangers of mycotoxin exposure and to develop strategies to eliminate exposure of children fed homemade weanimix to aflatoxin and fumonisin.Item NovaSil clay intervention in Ghanaians at high risk for aflatoxicosis. I. Study design and clinical outcomes(Food Additives and Contaminants 25(1):76-87, 2008) Afriyie-Gyawu, E.; Ankrah, N. A.; Huebner, H.J.; Ofosuhene, M.; Kumi, J.; Johnson, N.M.; Tang, L.; Xu, L.; Jolly, P.E.; Ellis, W.O.; Ofori-Adjei, D.; Williams, J.H.; Wang, J.S.; Phillips, T.D.In a phase I clinical trial in the U.S., NovaSil clay (NS) showed no significant adverse health effects in humans. In this study (3 month duration), a double-blinded, placebo controlled clinical trial was conducted in Ghana to investigate the safety, tolerance, and aflatoxin sorption efficacy of dietary NS. Volunteers (507 subjects, ages from 18 – 58 yrs) were clinically screened to evaluate their general health, pregnancy status, and levels of blood AFB1-Albumin adducts. Of these subjects, 177 (101 males, 76 females) were randomly assigned to 3 groups: high-dose (HD), low-dose (LD) and placebo-control (PL) groups receiving 3.0, 1.5 and 0 g NS/day in capsules. As a safety precaution, 3.0 g NS was selected as the highest dose since it represented the MED (minimal effective dose) of NS for AFs based on previous animal studies. NS capsules were administered to each participant under the supervision of trained study monitors prior to meals. Blood and urine samples were collected for laboratory analysis. Physical examinations were performed monthly and follow-up was taken to record any side effects daily. Ninety-four percent of the participants (166 of 177) completed the study and compliance rate was 97.4%, 96.4%, and 98.5% for HD, LD, and PL groups, respectively. Overall, 99.4% of person-time reported no side effects throughout the study. Mild to moderate health events were recorded in some of the participants. Throughout the study duration, the total reported side effects with respect to complaints were 0.66%, 0.68%, and 0.48% for HD, LD, and PL, respectively. Symptoms included nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, flatulence, abdominal discomfort, heartburn and dizziness. These side effects were neither dose-dependent nor statistically significant among the three groups. Also, some participants (in all groups) reported having increased appetite in the course of the study. No significant differences were shown in hematology, liver and kidney function, electrolytes, and vital signs in the three groups. These findings demonstrate that application of NS clay for the protection of humans at high risk for aflatoxicosis may represent a novel and economically feasible approachItem Reduction in the urinary aflatoxin M1 biomarker as an early indicator of the efficacy of dietary interventions to reduce exposure to aflatoxins(Biomarkers, 2013-05) Mitchell, N.J.; Kumi, J.; Johnson, N.M.; Dotse, E.; Marroquin-Cardona, A.; Wang, J.S.; Jolly, P.E.; Ankrah, N.-A.; Phillips, T.D.Aflatoxin B1 is a persistent public health issue in Ghana. Assessment of AFB1 intervention efficacy is currently dependent on long-term biomarkers. This study was designed to determine whether daily AFM1 biomarker levels could be utilized as an early detection method for intervention efficacy. Participants were treated with a refined calcium montmorillonite clay (UPSN) or a placebo (calcium carbonate) in a crossover study. Urine samples were assessed for AFM1 levels daily. UPSN treatment reduced AFM1 biomarkers by 55% compared to the placebo. This is the first study to show that daily urinary AFM1 levels can be used as a biomarker of internal aflatoxin B1 exposure in short-term intervention trials to determine efficacy. © 2013 Informa UK Ltd. All rights reserved: reproduction in whole or part not permitted.Item Safety of "sachet water" and raw milk(Ghana Med. Journal 41(2): 37, 2007) Ofori-Adjei, D.; Afriyie-Gyawu, E.; Ankrah, N. A.; Huebner, H.J.; Ofosuhene, M.; Kumi, J.; Johnson, N.M.; Tang, L.; Xu, L.; Jolly, P.E.; Ellis, W.O.; Williams, J.H.; Wang, J.S.; Phillips, T.D.A 3-month double-blind and placebo-controlled, phase IIa clinical trial was conducted in Ghana to investigate the safety, tolerance and aflatoxin-sorption efficacy of dietary NovaSil (NS). Volunteers (507 subjects) were clinically screened to evaluate their general health, pregnancy status and blood AFB(1)-albumin adduct levels. Of these subjects, 177 were randomly assigned to three groups: high-dose (HD), low-dose (LD) and placebo-control (PL) groups receiving 3.0, 1.5 and 0 g NS day(-1) in capsules. Trained study-monitors supervised NS capsule administration to participants and recorded side-effects daily. Physical examinations were performed monthly. Blood and urine samples were collected for laboratory analysis. Approximately 92% of the participants (162 of 177) completed the study and compliance rate was over 97%. Overall, 99.5% of person x time reported no side-effects throughout the study. Mild to moderate health events (approximately 0.5% of person x time) were recorded in some participants. Symptoms included nausea, diarrhea, heartburn and dizziness. These side-effects were statistically similar among all three groups. No significant differences were shown in hematology, liver and kidney function or electrolytes in the three groups. These findings demonstrate that NS clay is apparently safe and practical for the protection of humans against aflatoxins in populations at high risk for aflatoxicosis.Item Short-term safety and efficacy of calcium montmorillonite clay (UPSN) in children(American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 2014-08) Mitchell, N.J.; Kumi, J.; Aleser, M.; Elmore, S.E.; Rychlik, K.A.; Zychowski, K.E.; Romoser, A.A.; Phillips, T.D.; Ankrah, N.-A.Recently, an association between childhood growth stunting and aflatoxin (AF) exposure has been identified. In Ghana, homemade nutritional supplements often consist of AF-prone commodities. In this study, children were enrolled in a clinical intervention trial to determine the safety and efficacy of Uniform Particle Size NovaSil (UPSN), a refined calcium montmorillonite known to be safe in adults. Participants ingested 0.75 or 1.5 g UPSN or 1.5 g calcium carbonate placebo per day for 14 days. Hematological and serum biochemistry parameters in the UPSN groups were not significantly different from the placebo-controlled group. Importantly, there were no adverse events attributable to UPSN treatment. A significant reduction in urinary metabolite (AFM1) was observed in the high-dose group compared with placebo. Results indicate that UPSN is safe for children at doses up to 1.5 g/day for a period of 2 weeks and can reduce exposure to AFs, resulting in increased quality and efficacy of contaminated foods. Copyright © 2014 by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.