Is adherence to plant-based diet associated with higher exposure to mycotoxins?

It has been hypothesized that vegans may be more prone to mycotoxin exposure due to high intakes of plant-based foods. Very few studies have, however, directly addressed this hypothesis.

To assess mycotoxin exposure among Icelandic vegans and omnivores.

Data on 171 omnivores from the Icelandic National Dietary Survey and 47 vegans from a comparable survey. Diet was assessed using two 24-h recalls. Concentrations of T2 toxin, Deoxynivalenol (DON), Ochratoxin A (OTA), and Zearalenon (ZEN) and its metabolites were quantified in spot urine.

Participants' ages ranged from 23 to 64 years. Total cereal consumption was similar among vegans versus omnivores (214 vs. 182 g/day), while intake of whole grains was higher among vegans (52 vs. 22 g/day). As expected, vegans had a higher intake of plant-based meat and dairy alternatives. DON and OTA were detected in all omnivore samples but 99 and 77% of vegan samples, respectively. Creatinine (cr.) adjusted urinary concentrations of DON were similar among vegans versus omnivores (median: 1.84 vs. 2.04 ng/g cr., p = 0.54), while concentrations of OTA were ~10 fold lower among vegans (median: 0.01 vs. 0.11 ng/g cr., p < 0.001). Concentrations of ZEN were detected in all vegan samples (median: 0.075 ng/g cr.), but in only 52% of the omnivore samples (median: 0.004 ng/g cr.). Consumption of cereals and rice showed a weak positive correlation with DON and OTA (r ~ 0.2, p < 0.05) among omnivores, but overall, correlations between diet and urinary mycotoxin concentrations were inconsistent.

Our results do not support the previous hypothesis suggesting that vegans might be more highly exposed to mycotoxins than omnivores. Our results do, however, show that the two groups exhibited distinct patterns of exposure that are likely to reflect their dietary habits.

Due to growing awareness about the environmental impact of foods there has been a shift in interest among the general population towards consumption of more plant-based diets, including vegan diets. Although such diets have clear health benefits, it has been hypothesized that they may lead to more elevated exposures to mycotoxins that are commonly found in plant-based foods. Given the low prevalence of vegans as observed in most population-based studies, very few studies have, however, addressed this hypothesis directly. This paper assessed mycotoxin exposure among vegan and omnivores and characterized their exposure in relation to their dietary habits.