Incidence of deoxynivalenol in Serbian wheat and barley

One hundred thirty-nine small-grain cereal (wheat and barley) samples collected during the 2010 harvest in Serbia were tested for deoxynivalenol (DON) contamination. Samples were classified into four different groups and then analyzed by analytical methods based on cleanup by solid-phase extraction and detection by liquid chromatography after the validation. Limits of detection of DON were 18 and 22 μg/kg for wheat and barley, respectively, and limits of quantification were 60 and 73 μg/kg for wheat and barley, respectively. Obtained recovery values for wheat and barley samples ranged from 93.7 to 105.8% and from 84.7 to 89.2%, respectively. Analysis of 128 wheat samples showed that 100 (78.1%) of them were contaminated with DON at the levels ranging from 64 to 4,808 μg/kg. The contamination level of even 16 (12.5%) samples was above the established maximum tolerable limits adopted by the European Commission (EC) and Serbian regulation. In the 11 examined barley samples, DON was found in 3 (27.3%), with the levels ranging from 118 to 355 μg/kg, although none of the samples were contaminated above the limit for this cereal. The results obtained were analyzed as a function of climatic conditions and compared with the previous data on the presence of DON in Serbia.

Mycotoxicological research in South Africa 1910-2011

The British mycologist, I.B. Pole-Evans, was appointed as the first South African government mycologist in 1905 following the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902). The Onderstepoort Veterinary Research Institute was founded in 1908 with the Swiss veterinarian, Arnold Theiler, as the first director. Thus, the stage was set for the commencement of mycotoxicological research when the Union of South Africa came into being in 1910. The first accounts of this pioneering research appeared in the 'Seventh and eight reports of the Director of Veterinary Research, Union of South Africa. 1918' in which D.T. Mitchell reported on the experimental reproduction of the neurotoxic syndrome, diplodiosis, in cattle with pure cultures of Stenocarpella maydis (= Diplodia zea) isolated by P.A. Van der Bijl and grown on sterile maize kernels. This is the first report of the experimental reproduction of a veterinary mycotoxicosis with a pure culture of a fungus in South Africa and possibly in the world. This seminal research was followed by a great deal of multidisciplinary research on veterinary mycotoxicoses as well as human syndromes in which fungal toxins are suspected to be involved, taxonomy of mycotoxigenic fungi and chemistry of mycotoxins in South Africa. The mycotoxicoses studied in South Africa include the following (more or less in chronological order): diplodiosis, Paspalum staggers, aflatoxicosis, human hepatocellular carcinoma, ochratoxicosis, lupinosis, facial eczema, tremorgenic mycotoxicosis, hyperoestrogenism, stachybotryotoxicosis, ergotism, leukoencephalomalacia and human oesophageal cancer. A major breakthrough in mycotoxicological research was made in South Africa in 1988 with the isolation and chemical characterisation of the carcinogenic fumonisins produced by Fusarium verticillioides in maize. Current research at the PROMEC Unit of the South African Medical Research Council on the risk assessment of fumonisins and intervention methods to reduce fumonisin intake by rural populations on a maize staple diet is highlighted. This paper concludes with a selected list of mycotoxicological publications by South African mycologists/plant pathologists, veterinarians and chemists/biochemists.

Occurrence of ochratoxin A and citrinin in Czech cereals and comparison of two HPLC methods for ochratoxin A detection

The aims of the study were to obtain information about the occurrence of ochratoxin A (OTA) and citrinin (CIT) in cereals harvested in the Czech Republic and to compare two analytical procedures for detecting OTA. A total of 34 cereal samples, including two matrix reference materials (R-Biopharm, Germany), were analysed. The results were compared with the limit for raw cereal grains used as a foodstuff according to Commission Regulation No. 1881/2006, which allows a maximum OTA level of 5 µg kg(-1). Compared were two methods based on the high-performance liquid chromatography principle, one using the immunoaffinity columns OchraTest (VICAM) and the second based on solvent partition (PART), both followed by fluorescence detection. The highest OTA contents were found in two barley samples. According to the method employed, the results for the first sample (malting barley) were VICAM = 31.43 µg kg(-1) and PART = 44.74 µg kg(-1). For the second sample (feeding barley) they were VICAM = 48.63 µg kg(-1) and PART = 34.40 µg kg(-1). Two samples of bread wheat had an OTA content approaching the legal limit (VICAM = 4.71 µg kg(-1) and PART = 6.03 µg kg(-1); VICAM = 4.12 µg kg(-1) and PART = 3.95 µg kg(-1)). CIT was analysed using the PART method only, and its highest content (93.64 µg kg(-1)) was found for the malting barley sample with high OTA content (44.74 µg kg(-1) as analysed using PART).

Fusarium head blight of wheat: pathogenic species and their mycotoxins

Fusarium head blight is a wheat disease of global importance and devastating impact in some years, especially in regions with high cereal production. Wheat grain contamination with mycotoxins is the result of head infection with several Fusarium pathogens. Among all metabolites accumulated in grain of wheat and other cereals infected with Fusarium culmorum and Fusarium graminearum, deoxynivalenol (DON) and other trichothecenes as well as zearalenone (ZEA) are accumulated with the highest levels and frequencies. Furthermore, moniliformin and enniatins were identified in several countries, where Fusarium avenaceum frequency was high. Several other species occurring with lower frequency have been reported. The chemotypes of individual isolates were established with the use of specific PCR markers. This review summarises the information on toxigenic Fusarium species infecting wheat heads, the morphological and molecular identification methods, toxic metabolites accumulated in the infected grain and on recent Fusarium genomic research. The interaction between the aggressive Fusarium pathogens and wheat host plant is discussed, particularly concerning the level of accumulation of DON and ZEA in grain samples. Various types of plant resistance against Fusarium head blight are described, together with wheat quantitative trait loci and DNA markers for their identification, that are useful for resistance breeding. Taking into account the risk of increased occurrence of several Fusarium mycotoxins, regulatory limits of DON, ZEA and fumonisins were established in EU, USA, Canada and other countries.

Developments in mycotoxin analysis: an update for 2008-2009

This review highlights developments in mycotoxin analysis and sampling over a period between mid-2008 and mid-2009. It covers the major mycotoxins: aflatoxins, alternaria toxins, cyclopiazonic acid, fumonisins, ochratoxin, patulin, trichothecenes and zearalenone. Developments in mycotoxin analysis continue, with emphasis on novel immunological methods and further description of LC-MS and LC-MS/MS, particularly as multimycotoxin applications for different ranges of mycotoxins. Although falling outside the main emphasis of the review, some aspects of natural occurrence have been mentioned, especially if linked to novel method developments.

Biosensors for mycotoxin analysis: recent developments and future prospects

The toxicity and prevalence of mycotoxins in commodities and foods has necessitated the development of rapid methods in order to ensure the protection of human food and animal feed supplies. Testing for mycotoxins can be accomplished by many techniques that range from determinative tests in which the presence of the toxin is confirmed, to presumptive tests in which the presence of the toxin is inferred from the presence of markers. This review focuses on tests that fall into a third category, namely indirect assays, where the presence of the toxin is established by it's interaction with an intermediary. Such intermediaries include biological materials that bind mycotoxins, such as antibodies, as well as synthetic materials such as polymers and man-made peptides. The diversity of assays within this category is extraordinary and includes assays based upon traditional microwell formats, microbeads, membranes, electrodes, wave-guides, and solution-phase assays. The microbead format includes platforms as diverse as flow injection immunoassays, tandem column immunoassays, and immunoaffinity columns. The membrane-based formats include flow-through as well as lateral-flow assays. The electrode-based formats incorporate miniaturised immunoassays with electrochemical endpoints. The wave-guide-based devices include formats such as surface plasmon resonance, and fluorescence array biosensors, and the solution phase formats include homogeneous assays such as fluorescence polarisation immunoassay. The breadth of technologies brought to bear upon solving the need for rapid, accurate, detection of mycotoxins is impressive and includes technologies currently available commercially and those which appear poised to enter the marketplace.