Multiple Mycotoxins in Rice: Occurrence and Health Risk Assessment in Children and Adults of Punjab, Pakistan.

Saima Majeed,Mazhar Iqbal,Moazur Rahman,Waqar Rauf,Abdul Tawab,Fazal-E-Habib Fazal-E-Habib,Sarah De Saeger,Marthe De Boevre

doi:10.3390/toxins10020077

Abstract

Mycotoxin contamination in rice can create a health risk for the consumers. In this study, the measurement of 23 mycotoxins in rice samples (n = 180) was performed using a validated LC–MS/MS method. A food frequency questionnaire was used to get rice consumption data for the assessment of mycotoxin dietary exposure, before calculating the health risk in adults and children of north and south regions of the Pakistani Punjab province. The prevalence of aflatoxin B1 (56%), aflatoxin B2 (48%), nivalenol (28%), diacetoxyscirpenol (23%), fumonisin B1 (42%), zearalenone (15%), HT-2 toxin (10%), deoxynivalenol (8%), and ochratoxin A (6%) was estimated in samples with a mean concentration range between 0.61 and 22.98 µg/kg. Aflatoxin degradation by traditional Pakistani cooking recipes was evaluated and observed to be 41–63%. The dietary exposure to aflatoxins exceeded the tolerable daily intake at all levels, and ochratoxin A and zearalenone posed health risk at high contamination and high consumption levels. The margin of aflatoxin B1 exposure ranged between 10 and 69 in adults and 10 and 62 in children. The mean cancer risk by aflatoxin B1 exposure was 0.070 (adults) and 0.071 (children) cases/year/100,000 people in South Punjab population, and 0.122 (adults) and 0.127 (children) cases/year/100,000 people in North Punjab population. This study will provide new insights for the planning and management of mycotoxins in Pakistan.

Highlights

Mycotoxins are naturally occurring toxic secondary metabolites produced by fungal species of the genera Aspergillus, Alternaria, Penicillium, Fusarium, Claviceps, and several others
The study measured the levels of multi-mycotoxin contamination in rice samples using a validated multi-mycotoxin LC–MS/MS method
The risk assessment of mycotoxins by rice intake in adults and children of the Pakistani population in South Punjab (SP) and North Punjab (NP) regions was performed after attaining consumption data of rice by conducting food frequency questionnaires

Summary

Introduction

Mycotoxins are naturally occurring toxic secondary metabolites produced by fungal species of the genera Aspergillus, Alternaria, Penicillium, Fusarium, Claviceps, and several others. Trichothecenes, aflatoxins (AFs), Alternaria toxins, fumonisins (FBs), ochratoxin A (OTA), and zearalenone (ZEN) are the most important. Toxins 2018, 10, 77 classes of mycotoxins causing a great variety of toxic effects in humans as well as in animals. Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is the most important source of human calorie intake and is a staple food in many countries [2]. Rice, cultivated in flooded irrigation conditions and high moisture levels, is susceptible to get infected by mold and to subsequent mycotoxin contamination. Sun-drying of rice, usually practiced by most of the farmers, is insufficient to reduce the moisture content, making rice more prone to fungal attack [4,5]

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