The four major AFT are B1, B2, G1, and G2 based on their fluorescence under UV light (blue or green) and relative chromatographic mobility during thin-layer chromatography (TLC) [11]. AFT B1 (Fig. 1) is the most potent natural carcinogen known [14], and is usually the major AFT produced by toxigenic strains. Fig. 1B shows the structure of AFT-B1.
The toxicology of AFT is both challenging and complex. The differences in susceptibility to AFT across species and between persons depend largely on the fraction of the dose that is directed into the various possible pathways, with harmful “biological” exposure
being the result of activation to the epoxide and the reaction of the epoxide with proteins and DNA [15].