MYCOTOXINS: THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SCIENTIFIC SUBJECT FIELD AND ITS SPREAD INTO DIFFERENT SUBJECT DISCIPLINES

The literature on mycotoxins and its spread into different subject disciplines has been examined using the card index of the Tropical Development and Research Institute Library. The index has a total of 2,802 references on mycotoxins. The graph on the growth of the subject shows an initial flat, a steep climb, a small flat and then a rapid decline. The field of mycotoxins began life as part of agriculture and then moved into the disciplines of chemistry, food science, medicine, microbiology and veterinary science. The pattern of literature spread or scatter made it possible to divide the literature into four chronological sequences or stages of development: period of academic interest, period of high activity, period of peak activity and period of continued interest. It is suggested that such a study could be useful in the effective running of a documentation centre.