Spirit of Aggieland Goes Global With Aflatoxin Research

By Angela Clendenin

Historically, molds and their chemical by-products have played a significant role in the lives of humans and animals. They can be both beneficial and harmful. Molds have been used for centuries in producing foods such as cheese and salami. The chemicals from molds have also been used as antibiotics and as drugs for treating diseases. Importantly, many of these molds produce chemicals (mycotoxins) that can be harmful when ingested in large quantities or over a long period.

“During extended periods of drought, the production of hazardous mycotoxins [such as the aflatoxins] can be unavoidable and may result in contaminated foods that present significant health risks, including disease and death,” says Texas A&M University researcher Timothy D. Phillips of the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences.

The aflatoxins can cause severe toxic effects, immunosuppression, liver cancer and interference with nutrients. The devastating human health consequences of these poisons greatly concern Phillips, especially for developing countries where the poorest people routinely consume aflatoxin-contaminated foods.

To address this problem, Phillips and colleagues have taken the “spirit of Aggieland” to their collaborators and research counterparts overseas as part of a recent clinical trial with refined calcium montmorillonite clay (NS) in Ghana, Africa. NS has been shown to work in the digestive tract of animals to enhance the elimination of aflatoxins before they can cause problems. He is optimistic that this same strategy may one day be applicable and sustainable for protecting populations at risk for aflatoxicosis.

“Eventually, the preferred delivery of NS may be through its inclusion in salt or as an additive in foods such as peanut butter,” says Phillips. “With the help of our ‘honorary Aggie monitors’ in Ghana, we hope to find that NS clay will have a positive result when added to the human diet at appropriate levels.”

The chemicals from molds have also been used as antibiotics and as drugs for treating diseases.

Industry has combined the clay technologies developed by Phillips and his team with a unique component to create innovative products for use in improving food safety worldwide. These proprietary products, called clay–acid product combinations, have important attributes that show significant improvement in toxin absorption levels and demonstrate broad-spectrum antimicrobial, antifungal and even insecticidal qualities.

Through the Texas A&M University System Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC), Texas A&M University is taking the research that Phillips and his colleagues have developed to the marketplace for commercial use. Already, NovaSil clay has made an impact in the animal nutrition industry. The OTC continues to support Phillips’ efforts to develop a human application of this technology.

“Recognizing the potential for these products, the Office of Technology Commercialization worked with Dr. Phillips and his co-inventors to protect their innovations through patents,” says Blake Petty, business development manager in the OTC. “The OTC then established a startup corporation, Texas EnteroSorbents Inc. [TxESI], specifically to commercialize these novel products.”

Petty adds that this process is an important way to achieve the mission of converting A&M System innovations into commercial products that can provide a return to the A&M System, recognition and reward for A&M System scientists, and extraordinary benefits to society.