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Niyibituronsa M, Onyango AN, Gaidashova S, Imathiu SM, Uwizerwa M, Wanjuki I, Nganga F, Muhutu JC, Birungi J, Ghimire S, Raes K, De Boevre M, De Saeger S, Harvey J. Evaluation Of Mycotoxin Content In Soybean (Glycine max L.) Grown In Rwanda. Afr J Food Agric Nutr Dev 2018; 18:AJFAND-18-03-13808. [PMID: 33281893 PMCID: PMC7714182 DOI: 10.18697/ajfand.83.17710] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Soybean is a critical food and nutritional security crop in Rwanda. Promoted by the Rwandan National Agricultural Research System for both adults and as an infant weaning food, soybean is grown by approximately 40% of households. Soybean may be susceptible to the growth of mycotoxin-producing moulds; however, data has been contradictory. Mycotoxin contamination is a food and feed safety issue for grains and other field crops. This study aimed to determine the extent of mycotoxin contamination in soybean, and to assess people's awareness on mycotoxins. A farm-level survey was conducted in 2015 within three agro-ecological zones of Rwanda suitable for soybean production. Soybean samples were collected from farmers (n=300) who also completed questionnaires about pre-and post-harvest farm practices, and aflatoxin awareness. The concentration of total aflatoxin in individual soybean samples was tested by enzymelinked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using a commercially-available kit. Other mycotoxins were analyzed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LCMS/MS) on 10 selected sub samples. Only 7.3% of the respondents were aware of aflatoxin contamination in foods, but farmers observed good postharvest practices including harvesting the crop when the pods were dry. Using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), only one sample had a concentration (11 µg/kg) above the most stringent EU maximum permitted limit of 4 µg/kg. Multi-mycotoxins liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) results confirmed that soybeans had low or undetectable contamination; only one sample contained 13µg/kg of sterigmatocystine. The soybean samples from Rwanda obtained acceptably low mycotoxin levels. Taken together with other studies that showed that soybean is less contaminated by mycotoxins, these results demonstrate that soybean can be promoted as a nutritious and safe food. However, there is a general need for educating farmers on mycotoxin contamination in food and feed to ensure better standards are adhered to safeguard the health of the consumers regarding these fungal secondary metabolites.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Niyibituronsa
- Rwanda Agriculture Board, Rwanda, P.O. BOX 5016 Kigali, Rwanda
- Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya, P.O. BOX 62000 (00200) Nairobi Kenya
- Biosciences eastern and central Africa-International Livestock Research Institute Hub, Kenya, Nairobi, 00100, Kenya
- Department of Bioanalysis, Ghent University, Belgium, 9000 Gent, Belgium
| | - AN Onyango
- Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya, P.O. BOX 62000 (00200) Nairobi Kenya
| | - S Gaidashova
- Rwanda Agriculture Board, Rwanda, P.O. BOX 5016 Kigali, Rwanda
| | - SM Imathiu
- Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya, P.O. BOX 62000 (00200) Nairobi Kenya
| | - M Uwizerwa
- Rwanda Agriculture Board, Rwanda, P.O. BOX 5016 Kigali, Rwanda
| | - I Wanjuki
- Biosciences eastern and central Africa-International Livestock Research Institute Hub, Kenya, Nairobi, 00100, Kenya
| | - F Nganga
- Biosciences eastern and central Africa-International Livestock Research Institute Hub, Kenya, Nairobi, 00100, Kenya
| | - JC Muhutu
- Rwanda Agriculture Board, Rwanda, P.O. BOX 5016 Kigali, Rwanda
| | - J Birungi
- Biosciences eastern and central Africa-International Livestock Research Institute Hub, Kenya, Nairobi, 00100, Kenya
| | - S Ghimire
- Biosciences eastern and central Africa-International Livestock Research Institute Hub, Kenya, Nairobi, 00100, Kenya
| | - K Raes
- Department of Food Technology, Safety and Health, Ghent University – Campus Kortrijk, Belgium, 8500 Kortrijk, Belgium
| | - M De Boevre
- Department of Bioanalysis, Ghent University, Belgium, 9000 Gent, Belgium
| | - S De Saeger
- Department of Bioanalysis, Ghent University, Belgium, 9000 Gent, Belgium
| | - J Harvey
- Biosciences eastern and central Africa-International Livestock Research Institute Hub, Kenya, Nairobi, 00100, Kenya
- Feed the Future Innovation Lab for the Reduction of Post-Harvest Loss, and Department of Plant Pathology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS66506, USA
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