Determination of Aflatoxins in Grains and Raw Peanuts by a Rapid Procedure with Fluorometric Analysis

Abstract

A rapid, quantitative, inexpensive, and efficient method was developed to determine aflatoxins in corn, corn meal, popcorn, rice, wheat, cottonseed, and peanuts. Samples are ground and extracted with methanol-water (80 + 20). A portion of the extract is cleaned up by passage through a solid-phase separatory column, 500 microL purified extract is derivatized with a bromine reagent, and fluorescence of the solution is immediately quantified with a calibrated fluorometer containing a broad wavelength pulsed xenon light source. This method can quantify aflatoxin from 5 to 5000 ppb without dilution and was linear when applied to samples of noncontaminated corn spiked at 0 to 5000 micrograms aflatoxin B1/g. Correlation coefficients of the method with LC for multiple analyses for corn (n = 34), cottonseed (n = 32), and peanuts (n = 11) were 0.999, 0.995, and 0.980, respectively. Individual analyses may be conducted in less than 5 min, and grouping of samples is unnecessary. The sensitivity of the method for corn is 5 ppb and the fluorometer, under the operating conditions, has a limit of detection of 0.6 ng aflatoxin B1.