Abstract
Contamination of foods by mycotoxins is linked to various health and economic implications. This study evaluated the incidence of mycotoxins in commercial and small-scale maize and evaluated potential health risks for consumers based on South African and international regulations. The sensitivity/specificity of HPLC over other analytical methods used was also ascertained. In total, 100 maize samples were analyzed using immuno-affinity column for extraction and clean-up, thin layer chromatography (TLC), HPLC, and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for quantification. Results revealed that fumonisinB1 was the most contaminant mycotoxin in both small-scale and commercial samples with incidence rates of 100% and 98.6%, respectively. Aflatoxins contamination occurred at incidences of 26.7% in small-scale and 25.0% in commercial samples. Furthermore, ochratoxin A had high incidence rates of 97.8% and 93.0% and ranged from 3.60–19.44 µg/kg and 1.60–9.89 µg/kg, respectively, in small-scale and commercial samples, while ZEA occurred in 50% and 55% of small-scale and commercial samples, respectively. Results demonstrate that maize, especially from small-scale farmers, may contribute to dietary exposure to mycotoxins. Farmers and consumers should be alerted to the dangers of mycotoxins contamination in maize with resultant health risks. Additionally, HPLC method was also found to be more specific for mycotoxin detection than ELISA.
Highlights
Mycotoxins are natural, chemically diverse, fungal products that have harmful effects on exposed humans and animals in a variety of ways [1].They are non-volatile, relatively low molecular weight compounds [1] synthesized mainly by the secondary metabolism of some filamentous fungi [2]
The retardation factor (RF ) values and the fluorescing color of spots produced by sample extracts were compared to those of standard mycotoxins to assist in the identification of mycotoxins present
Results obtained for Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) analysis (Table 3) demonstrated, to some extent, the occurrence of some of the mycotoxins—fumonisin B1 (FB1 ), ochratoxin A (OTA), and zearalenone (ZEA)—whereas aflatoxins in the sample extracts did not show on TLC
Summary
Mycotoxins (from “myco” fungus and toxin) are natural, chemically diverse, fungal products that have harmful effects on exposed humans and animals in a variety of ways [1]. They are non-volatile, relatively low molecular weight compounds [1] synthesized mainly by the secondary metabolism of some filamentous fungi [2]. Some 300 to 400 mycotoxins are known, of which, just about a dozen regularly receive attention as threats to human and animal health [2]. Human exposure to mycotoxins can result from the direct consumption of contaminated agricultural crops or from the consumption of foods derived from animals (milk, meat, and eggs) [6]
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