Micotoxinas

Mycotoxins: Risks in Plant, Animal,
and Human Systems

Council for Agricultural Science and Technology, Ames, Iowa, USA
Printed in the United States of America
Cover design by Lynn Ekblad, Different Angles, Ames, Iowa
Cover photo of painting entitled The Beggars by Pieter Bruegel the Elder
(ca. 1525–1569). Copyright Réunion des Musées Nationaux/Art Resource, NY,
Louvre, Paris, FranceGraphics and layout by Richard Beachler, Instructional Technology Center,
Iowa State University, Ames
ISBN 1-887383-22-0
ISSN 0194-4088
06 05 04 03 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging–in–Publication Data
Mycotoxins: Risks in Plant, Animal, and Human Systems
p. cm. -- (Task force report, ISSN 0194-4088 ; no. 139)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-887383-22-0
1.Mycotoxins. I. Council for Agricultural Science and Technology.
II. Task force report (Council for Agricultural Science and Technology)
; no. 139.
RA1242.M94 M97 2002
615.9'5295-dc21
2002010538

Task Force Report
No. 139

January 2003

Council for Agricultural Science and Technology
Ames, Iowa, USA

The Beggars
by Pieter Bruegel The Elder

The oldest recognized
mycotoxicosis ofhumans
is ergotism caused by the
plant parasitic fungus,
Claviceps purpurea. After periodic outbreaks in
central Europe, the disease became epidemic in
the Middle Ages, where it
was known as St. Anthony’s fire (Matossian 1989;
van Rensburg and Altenkirk 1974). Gangrenous
symptoms were described
in medieval episodes of
ergotism in humans,
where early symptoms
were hallucinations and
swollenlimbs with burning sensations, with subsequent necrosis leading to
loss of appendages. Ergotism results from consumption of products made with grains contaminated with
ergots. The ergots or sclerotia are often larger than
the normal grain, are typically black in color, and may
replace several grains in one spike or head of the respective grain.
Pieter Bruegel (ca. 1525–1569) was the first ina
family of Flemish painters. His career spanned medieval times when many people were victims of gangrenous ergotism caused by Claviceps purpurea. This
particular painting was likely a depiction of some of
the victims of this tragic condition.
“Pieter Bruegel was usually known as Pieter Bruegel the Elder to distinguish him from his elder son.
He spelled his name Brueghel until 1559, and hissons
retained the ‘h’ in the spelling of their names. Pieter

Bruegel the Elder, generally considered the greatest Flemish painter of the
sixteenth century, is by
far the most important
member of the family. He
was probably born in Breda in the Duchy of Brabant, now in The Netherlands. Accepted as a
master in the Antwerp
painters’ guild in 1551,
he was apprenticed to Coecke van Aelst, aleading
Antwerp artist, sculptor,
architect, and designer of
tapestry and stained
glass. Bruegel traveled to
Italy in 1551 or 1552,
completing a number of paintings, mostly landscapes,
there. Returning home in 1553, he settled in Antwerp but ten years later moved permanently to Brussels. He married van Aelst’s daughter, Mayken, in
1563. His association with the van Aelst family drewBruegel to the artistic traditions of the Mechelen (now
Malines) region in which allegorical and peasant
themes run strongly. His paintings, including his
landscapes and scenes of peasant life, stress the absurd and vulgar, yet are full of zest and fine detail.
They also expose human weaknesses and follies. He
was sometimes called the ‘peasant Bruegel’ from such
works as Peasant Wedding Feast(1567)” (Pioch 2002).
The Beggars by Pieter Bruegel in 1568 is in The
Louvre in Paris, France. Copyright Réunion des
Musées Nationaux/Art Resource, NY, Louvre, Paris,
France

ii

Task Force Members

John L. Richard (Cochair), Romer Labs, Inc., Union, Missouri
Gary A. Payne (Cochair), Department of Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh
Anne E. Desjardins, U.S....