Few studies are carried out about the bioaccessibility of mycotoxins
in children. However is likely that the presence of mycotoxins
in the intestinal fluid of a child could cause more significant
damage to the intestinal enterocytes because of the reduced
dimension of the intestinal epithelium compared to that of adult.
simulated the digestion steps of pasta naturally
contaminated by DON which exceeded EU legislative limits fixed
for babies and infants. They reproduced the physiological conditions
in young children, characterized by lower levels of pancreatin,
pepsin and bile salts compared to adults. The mean DON bioaccessibility
value in children after duodenal digestion was 9.7%.
Considering that the average consumption of pasta by children is
45 g/day, the calculated amount of DON interacting with intestinal
epithelium cells could reach 1.5 mg/day. This regular exposure could
cause cytotoxic effects .