Abstract:

Mycotoxin-producing fungi are ubiquitous in moldy cereals and animal feeds and pose a serious threat to human
and animal health. Mycotoxins can be partly detoxified through incomplete degradation by plants or microbes into masked
mycotoxins which, however, still exist in plants or the environment. This paper is focused on the following aspects of
mycotoxins: distribution and hazards, incomplete degradation during the growth and postharvest storage of plants, and the
formation of masked mycotoxins by microbial conversion or degradation as well as their further degradation. Hopefully this
paper can provide guidelines for future studies on complete degradation of mycotoxins.

Key words: mycotoxins degradation, phytotransformation, microbial degradation, masked mycotoxins