Determination of Ochratoxin A (OTA), Ochratoxin B (OTB), T-2, and HT-2 Toxins in Wheat Grains, Wheat Flour, and Bread in Lebanon by LC-MS/MS.

Jomana Elaridi,Zouhair Attieh,Amira Al Matari,Saada Dakroub,Osama Yamani

doi:10.3390/toxins11080471

Jomana Elaridi, Zouhair Attieh + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins11080471

Copy DOI

Abstract

Cereals are prone to fungal infection during growth, harvesting, transportation, and/or storage. As a result, cereals such as wheat grains and wheat-derived products may be contaminated with mycotoxins leading to acute and chronic health exposure. The current study investigated the presence of the mycotoxins: ochratoxin A (OTA), ochratoxin B (OTB), T-2, and HT-2 toxins in samples of wheat grains (n = 50), wheat flour (n = 50), and bread (n = 37) from the main mills in Lebanon using LC-MS/MS. Accuracy ranged from 98–100%, recoveries from 93–105%, and intraday and interday precision were 5–7% and 9–12%, respectively. The tested wheat grains, wheat flour, and bread samples did not contain detectable levels of T-2 and HT-2 toxins and OTB. Four wheat flour samples (8% of flour samples) showed positive OTA levels ranging from 0.6–3.4 μg·kg−1 with an arithmetic mean of 1.9 ± 0.2 μg·kg−1. Only one sample contained an OTA concentration greater than the limit set by the European Union (3 μg·kg−1) for wheat-derived products. This study suggests that mycotoxin contamination of wheat grains, wheat flour, and bread in Lebanon is currently not a serious public health concern. However, surveillance strategies and monitoring programs must be routinely implemented to ensure minimal mycotoxin contamination of wheat-based products.

Highlights

IntroductionMycotoxins are poisonous secondary metabolites produced by different filamentous fungi such as those of the genus Aspergillus, Penicillium, and Fusarium
Mycotoxins are amongst the most prominent and dangerous toxins associated with food safety.Mycotoxins are poisonous secondary metabolites produced by different filamentous fungi such as those of the genus Aspergillus, Penicillium, and Fusarium
The various wheat grains and wheat flour samples were collected from the nine major mills which are responsible for the distribution of imported wheat and flour to bakeries, supermarkets, and patisseries all over the country

Summary

Introduction

Mycotoxins are poisonous secondary metabolites produced by different filamentous fungi such as those of the genus Aspergillus, Penicillium, and Fusarium. 25% of the world’s food crops are contaminated with mycotoxins, indicating that it is a persistent worldwide problem [1,2,3,4,5,6]. Ochratoxins, a specific class of mycotoxins, cause renal nephropathy, acute renal failure, lesions, and acute tubular necrosis in humans [7,8]. Ochratoxin A (OTA) is one of the most known and prevalent mycotoxins and is classified as a possible human carcinogen (Group 2B) by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) [9]. Aspergillus ochraceus, a mold species known to produce OTA and ochratoxin B (OTB), the dechlorinated version of OTA, is a contaminant in many staple food

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion