‘Brukina’ drink contains cancer-causing substance – UG research

One would like to enjoy a cold bottle of ‘brukina’ (or bokina), a dairy milk and millet mixture, to release some stress on a sunny afternoon.

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But have you bothered to know what this meal contains?

A research conducted by the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research at the University of Ghana has found that some samples of ‘brukina’ and the millet and dairy milk used to prepare it, contain unacceptable levels of aflatoxins that can cause cancer after continuous intake.

The research was published in the Ghana Medical Journal.

Aflatoxins are a group of highly toxic substances produced by a fungus known as Aspergillus.

The study sought to investigate levels of aflatoxin in ‘brukina’.

For the study, ‘brukina’ samples were purchased from ‘brukina’ producers monthly over a period of 7 months.

Twenty-one samples were collected from each site, Nima and Ashaiman in Accra, to be tested.

After testing, the scientists found that 1 sample from Ashaiman and 2 from Nima had high levels of aflatoxin (AFB1) above the acceptable limit.