Abstract
Human exposure assessment to deoxynivalenol (DON), aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), fumonisin B1 (FB1), zearalenone (ZEA) and ochratoxin A (OTA) can be performed by measuring their urinary biomarkers. Suitable biomarkers of exposure for these mycotoxins are DON + de-epoxydeoxynivalenol (DOM-1), aflatoxin M1 (AFM1), FB1, ZEA + α-zearalenol (α-ZOL) + β-zearalenol (β-ZOL) and OTA, respectively. An UPLC-MS/MS multi-biomarker method was used to detect and measure incidence and levels of these biomarkers in urine samples of 52 volunteers resident in Apulia region in Southern Italy. The presence of ZEA + ZOLs, OTA, DON, FB1 and AFM1 were detected in 100%, 100%, 96%, 56% and 6%, of samples, respectively. All samples contained biomarkers of two or more mycotoxins. The mean concentrations of biomarkers ranged from 0.055 ng/mL (FB1) to 11.89 ng/mL (DON). Urinary biomarker concentrations were used to estimate human exposure to multiple mycotoxin. For OTA and DON, 94% and 40% of volunteers, respectively exceeded the tolerable daily intake (TDI) for these mycotoxins. The estimated human exposure to FB1 and ZEA was largely below the TDI for these mycotoxins for all volunteers.
Highlights
Aflatoxins, deoxynivalenol (DON), zearalenone (ZEA), fumonisins and ochratoxin A (OTA) are recognized as the principal mycotoxins occurring in agricultural products and their levels in foodToxins 2014, 6 commodities are constantly inspected worldwide
The urinary concentrations of mycotoxin biomarkers could be very low for several reasons: (a) the levels of mycotoxins in foods and beverages can be very low especially for aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), OTA and ZEA; (b) the gastrointestinal absorption can be low as demonstrated for fumonisin B1 (FB1), c) the serum half-life can be very high as demonstrated for OTA
The purification protocol used in our study for simultaneous determination of urinary DON, DOM-1, aflatoxin M1 (AFM1), FB1, ZEA, α-ZOL, β-ZOL and OTA was successfully validated in a mini comparison study involving other laboratories that used either another multi-biomarker method or single-biomarker methods for determination of DON and FB1 [18]
Summary
Aflatoxins, deoxynivalenol (DON), zearalenone (ZEA), fumonisins and ochratoxin A (OTA) are recognized as the principal mycotoxins occurring in agricultural products and their levels in foodToxins 2014, 6 commodities are constantly inspected worldwide. Aflatoxins, deoxynivalenol (DON), zearalenone (ZEA), fumonisins and ochratoxin A (OTA) are recognized as the principal mycotoxins occurring in agricultural products and their levels in food. In a recent survey on 265 samples of cereal-based products commercialized in Spain, Italy, Marocco and Tunisia, 14% of the analyzed samples were contaminated with at least two mycotoxins and 18% of the analyzed samples were contaminated by more than two mycotoxins simultaneously [3]. The presence of mixtures of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), ZEA and OTA was reported in samples of breakfast cereals commercialized in Spain [5]. The majority of food commodities consumed in Cameroon were found contaminated with mixtures of mycotoxins, 21%
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
