Abstract:
The research review was carried out to investigate aflatoxins in a traditional brew of malwa and obushera in Uganda and to develop an identification kit for these aflatoxins in those particular foodstuffs. Many people in different parts of the country use cereals and cereal-based products as a source of energy and these very cereals are used in the production of malwa and obushera . The reason for carrying out this research review is due to the increasing dangers faced by people in Uganda consuming these drinks and later in the long run get affected due to ignorance. Aflatoxins are highly toxic compounds and through various metabolic processes, these aflatoxins can keep on accumulating subsequently in the tissues of animals and humans without changing their composition. Cereals in particular are the crops which are contaminated by these aflatoxins and the aflatoxins being secondary metabolites in this case are given rise to by some fungal species. This has been a serious concern over a period of time in Uganda. Therefore because of the dangers that arise from aflatoxins, the consumption of cereals and any cereal-based products is a serious issue that needs to be considered. In this case therefore possible strategies have to be laid down in order to prevent the resulting dangers which are basically health issues. Besides preventing contamination of cereals and cereal-based products by aflatoxins, detoxification and elimination of these aflatoxins can be applied to overcome these dangers. Various aflatoxins types are found in these drinks, and these very aflatoxins affect the lives of the consumers of these drinks though this occurs in the long run.
Keywords: Aflatoxins, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus parasiticus, malwa and obushera .
