Fumonisin contamination of maize in Burkina Faso, West Africa

Abstract

Maize throughout the world is frequently contaminated with a family of mycotoxins, the fumonisins, produced by species of Fusaria. The study investigated the level of fumonisin contamination of maize samples from village farms and large market traders in Burkina Faso, West Africa. Maize samples (5 kg) from each of five to six large storage barns from farms in five villages in the district of N’Dorola, Kénédougou province, western Burkina Faso, were sampled (n = 26) in Jan 1999 (> 1 year storage), and a further 26 maize samples from the same farms were collected directly from the field in October 1999. In addition, 72 maize samples were obtained in July 1999 from large markets in Bobo Dioulasso. Fumonisins were extracted from dried maize, derivatized with o-phthaldialdehyde and quantified by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. All 26 samples from the first (mean 1170 μg kg−1, range 110–3120 μg kg−1) and from the second (mean 130 μg kg−1, range 10–450 μg kg−1) village collection were fumonisin positive. All 72 maize samples from the large markets were also positive for fumonisins, and had the highest levels of contamination (mean 2900 μg kg−1, range 130–16 040 μg kg−1). As fumonisins were a ubiquitous contaminant of maize and given that this crop is a dietary staple in this region, chronic exposure is likely.