Degradation of aflatoxin B1 in peanut meal by electron beam irradiation

The effects and safety of electron beam irradiation (EBI) treatment on the detoxification of aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁) in the peanut meal were evaluated in this article. The AFB₁ degradation was predominantly affected by both initial AFB₁ and water concentrations. The degradation of AFB₁ in the selected concentrations (0.5–5 ppm) was proven to follow pseudo first-order reaction kinetics (R² > 0.95). The AFB₁ degradation was faster when the initial concentration was 5 ppm and the moisture content was 21.47%, in comparison with the initial concentration of 1 ppm and 0.5 ppm and the moisture content of 14.32% and 8.74%, respectively. The Ames and cytotoxicity tests were employed to evaluate the residual toxicity of EBI-treated peanut meal. The mutagenic activity of EB-treated samples was completely lost compared with that of untreated samples and the degradation products in peanut meal has almost no cell toxicity.     

Influence of water activity and storage conditions on survival and growth of proteolytic Clostridium botulinum in peanut spread

Outgrowth of Clostridium botulinum spores followed by toxin production in peanut spread at A_w0·98, 0·96, 0·94 and 0·92 stored at 30°C under anaerobic or aerobic conditions for 0, 3, 7 and 16 weeks or 0, 1, 9 and 16 weeks, respectively, was investigated. Botulinal toxin was not detected in peanut spreads stored under anaerobic conditions for 16 weeks. Peanut spreads at A_w0·98 and two of three samples at A_w0·96 stored aerobically became toxic after 9 and 16 weeks, respectively. Clostridium botulinum in peanut spread at A_w0·98 and 0·96 grew to populations of 10⁶and 10⁵cfu g⁻¹, respectively, within 16 weeks. Lactic acid bacteria grew within 3 days in peanut spread at A_w0·98 and 0·96 stored under aerobic or anaerobic conditions. Regardless of A_w, populations of aerobic and anaerobic micro-organisms decreased in peanut spread stored under anaerobic conditions. Only slight decreases occurred in samples stored under aerobic conditions. The pH of inoculated and uninoculated peanut spread at A_w0·98 and 0·96 increased from 4·8 to 7·0 within 16 weeks and was attributed to growth of Penicillium andMucor spp. Similarly, redox potential (Eh) of peanut spread stored under anaerobic conditions for 3 weeks, decreased as the A_wwas increased. Significantly lower Eh values in peanut spread samples at A_w0·98 or 0·96 stored under aerobic conditions occurred within 1 week and/or 9 weeks compared to peanut spread at A_w0·92 or 0·94. Peanut spreads were judged inedible due to growth of lactic acid bacteria and molds which resulted in ‘off’ aromas before toxicity developed, thus greatly minimizing the likelihood of consumption.     

Development of a class-specific monoclonal antibody-based ELISA for aflatoxins in peanut

Three class-specific monoclonal antibodies against aflatoxins were screened by a designed strategy in which aflatoxin G₂ was used as competitor in the screening ELISA system. With a high cross-reactivity (65%) to aflatoxin G₂, antibody 10C9 had the most similar sensitivity for five aflatoxins (AFB₁, AFB₂, AFG₁, AFG₂ and AFM₁), whose I₅₀ values were in a range of 2.1–3.2 ng ml⁻¹. So, antibody 10C9 was selected to develop an ELISA for determination of aflatoxin B₁, B₂, G₁, G₂ and total of them in peanut samples. And spiked recoveries were from 87.5% to 102.0%. The results indicate that the ELISA developed can accurately determine total aflatoxins in samples of peanuts after the simple and rapid extraction procedure.     

Aflatoxin B1 in peanut oil from Western Guangdong,China, during 2016–2017

Aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁) occurrence in peanut oil samples randomly collected from family workshops in western Guangdong during 2016–2017 (n = 427) was surveyed. AFB₁ content was screened by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) protocol and analytically confirmed with an UPLC-MS/MS method. The limit of detection of the ELISA method was 1.08 μg kg^?1. The recovery values ranged from 84.4 to 92.6% with relative standard deviations of 2.2 to 4.8%. AFB₁ was quantified in 47 samples (22.5%) with a range of 15.4–49.9 μg kg^?1 in 2016 and in 33 samples (15.1%) with 8.8–22.2 μg kg^?1 in 2017, respectively. The AFB₁ contamination in peanut oil was season-depended in western Guangdong with the worst case in spring (24.2–37.9%). Overall, a significant reduction of AFB₁ occurrence was observed in western Guangdong after 2016. It is advisable to control AFB₁ in bulk and self-pressed oil from family workshops and regulate it mandatorily if necessary.     

Intake of aflatoxins through the consumption of peanut products in Brazil

To estimate daily intake of aflatoxins from peanut products consumed by the population of Paraná State (Brazil), 100 samples of peanut products were collected between July 2006 and April 2007. Aflatoxins were determined by an HPLC method with fluorescence detection. There was a 50% occurrence of aflatoxins (B₁, B₂, G₁ and G₂) in concentrations ranging from 0.5 to 113?ng?g^?1, with 13 samples with levels above 20?ng?g^?1. Intake was calculated for average and high adult consumers of peanut products and it was compared with provisional maximum tolerable daily intake (PMTDI). The estimated probable daily intake (PDI) for aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁) varied from 0.6 to 10.4?ng?kg^?1?bw?day^?1, exceeding the PMTDI of 0.4?ng?kg^?1?bw?day^?1 for carriers of hepatitis B virus.     

Distribution of fungi and aflatoxins in a stored peanut variety

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the mycoflora and occurrence of aflatoxins in stored peanut samples (hulls and kernels) from Tupã, State of São Paulo, Brazil. The samples were analyzed monthly over a period of one year. The results showed a predominance of Fusarium spp. (67.7% in hulls and 25.8% in kernels) and Aspergillus spp. (10.3% in hulls and 21.8% in kernels), and the presence of five other genera. The growth of Aspergillus flavus was mainly influenced by temperature and relative humidity. Analysis of hulls showed that 6.7% of the samples were contaminated with AFB₁ (mean levels = 15–23.9 μg/kg) and AFB₂ (mean levels = 3.3–5.6 μg/kg); in kernels, 33.3% of the samples were contaminated with AFB₁ (mean levels = 7.0–116 μg/kg) and 28.3% were contaminated with AFB₂ (mean levels = 3.3–45.5 μg/kg). Analysis of the toxigenic potential revealed that 93.8% of the A. flavus strains isolated were producers of AFB₁ and AFB₂.     

Photodegradation of Aflatoxin B<Subscript>1</Subscript> in peanut oil

A photodegradation study of aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁) in peanut oil was performed under UV irradiation at different AFB₁ initial concentrations and UV irradiation intensities. The UV intensity and the irradiation duration on the AFB₁ photodegradation ratio is more effective, when compared with AFB₁ initial concentration, and AFB₁ with initial concentration of 2 mg/kg can be degraded thoroughly within 30 min under the intensity of 800 μw/cm². The photodegradation of AFB₁ between the selected ranges of concentrations was proved to follow first-order reaction kinetics well (R ² ≥ 0.99). The Ames test, employing Salmonella typhimurium tester strains TA98 and TA100, was employed to evaluate the residual toxicity of the AFB₁ subproducts in peanut oil, and the results indicated that the mutagenic activity of UV-treated samples (800 μw/cm² × 30 min) was completely lost compared with that of untreated samples, providing clues to the assessment of safety issues of UV method applied in AFB₁ decontamination.     

Safety evaluation of aflatoxin B1 in peanut oil after ultraviolet irradiation detoxification in a photodegradation reactor

The high incidence of aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁) in peanut oil has caused wide public concern in the world. Many studies have verified that ultraviolet (UV) irradiation can degrade AFB₁ in foods. A new photodegradation reactor has been developed to study the photodegradation efficiency of AFB₁ in peanut oil, and the safety of peanut oil was evaluated after UV irradiation detoxification based on the mutagenicity of Salmonella typhimurium tester strains and cytotoxicity of HepG2 cells. The results showed that AFB₁ in peanut oil could be decomposed efficiently using the photodegradation reactor. AFB₁ was decreased from 51.96 ± 4.24 to 7.23 ± 0.59 μg kg^?1 in 10 min and reduced by 86.08% compared with that of the negative control. The residual AFB₁ in peanut oil was far less than the limit level set by Chinese government (20 μg kg^?1). The Ames test and cell viability assay revealed that 10 min of UV irradiation reduced significantly the toxicity of AFB₁ in peanut oil. All the results suggest that the deleterious effects of AFB₁ can be highly reduced by UV irradiation in the photodegradation reactor, and the reactor can be applied in a large scale in detoxification of AFB₁ in peanut oil in the oil industry.     

QuEChERS-表面增强拉曼光谱法测定花生中黄曲霉毒素B1

目的 建立基于QuEChERS净化和表面增强拉曼光谱法(surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy,SERS)测定花生中黄曲霉毒素B1(aflatoxin B1,AFB1)的分析方法.方法 以纳米银(nano silver,AgNPs)作为SERS活性基底,结合QuEChERS样品预处理技术...     

Efficiency and safety evaluation of photodegradation of Aflatoxin B1 on peanut surface

A photodegradation study of Aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁) on peanut surface was performed under UV irradiation at different UV irradiation intensities. With an initial quantity of 10 ng of AFB_1, it can be degraded thoroughly within 80 min under the intensity of 800 μw cm^?2. The photodegradation pathway of AFB₁ on the peanut surface was proposed. Mutagenesis and cytotoxicity were assessed after exposure to different concentrations of AFB₁ and the mixtures of photodegradation products on the peanut surface. The results of the Ames and in vitro cytotoxicity assay, providing clues to the assessment of safety issues of UV method applied in AFB₁ decontamination, indicate that photodegradation products on the peanut surface has no toxicity, which can be explained by the differences in the chemical nature of the test compounds before and after UV irradiation.     

检测角度对激光诱导荧光光谱技术检测花生油AFB1污染的影响研究

近年来,近红外光谱、高光谱等快速无损检测技术,被广泛应用于农产品中黄曲霉毒素B₁(Aflatoxin B₁, AFB₁)的检测。但这些方法主要是根据黄曲霉改变样品本身的结构结合化学计量学方法间接检测样品中AFB₁,无特异性。因此,本研究拟利用研发的激光诱导荧光(laser induce fluorescence, LIF)技术获取污染AFB₁花生油的荧光光谱,建立精确无损检测花生油中AFB₁的定性、定量方法。首先,人工制备7种不同AFB₁污染水平的花生油样品,同时设置对照组。其次利用研发的LIF系统从不同角度检测样品的荧光光谱信号。最后,对获取的光谱进行分析。结果显示,三个检测角度的荧光强度在400-800 nm内均随着AFB₁污染水平的增加而增加,定性和定量的结果均是当检测荧光角度为90度时表现最优。表明当检测角度为90度时,LIF技术可以作为一种快速、精确的方法来判定花生油中AFB₁污染水平。     

Aflatoxin B1 in sesame seeds and sesame products from the Greek market

Aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁) is considered as the most potent liver carcinogen for humans. A method for determination in sesame seeds was developed. AFB₁ was extracted by methanol-water, cleaned by immunoaffinity columns and determined by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. The recovery factor and the limit of detection (LOD) of AFB₁ in sesame seeds were 111.5% and 0.02 ng g^?1, respectively. Thirty samples of sesame products were examined for the presence of AFB₁. After analysis, 77.6% of samples were found to be contaminated. Eight samples exceeded the European Union (EU) limit (2 µg AFB₁ kg^?1). In 15 samples, AFB₁ was below the EU limit. Seven samples remained below the LOD. The most contaminated (14.49 ng AFB₁ g^?1) sample was unpeeled packaged sesame seeds. In all samples, aflatoxigenic Aspergilli fungi as well as the risk for AFB₁ presence in sesame seed was investigated.     

Determination of aflatoxins in edible oil from markets in Hebei Province of China by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

Analysis of aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁), B₂ (AFB₂), G₁ (AFG₁) and G₂ (AFG₂) in 76 edible oil samples (peanut oil, soybean oil, corn embryo oil and blended oil) was performed by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). The oils were sampled from three areas (Shijiazhuang, Baoding and Tangshan) of Hebei Province of China. AFB₁ was detected in 22 samples representing 28.9%, followed by AFB₂ (7.89%) and AFG₁ (3.95%), while no AFG₂ contamination was detected in any samples. AFB₁ levels in oil samples ranged 0.14–2.72?µg?kg^?1 and AFB₂ ranged 0.15–0.36?µg?kg^?1, while lower levels of 0.01–0.02?µg?kg^?1 for AFG₁ were recorded. The paper is part of an on-going investigation of aflatoxin contamination in Chinese edible oils.     

Exposure to aflatoxins in Japan: risk assessment for aflatoxin B1

The intake of total aflatoxins (AFT) and aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁) from food in Japan was estimated from AFT and AFB₁ concentration and frequency data in 24 foods (884 samples) from a 3-year retail market survey from the summer of 2004 to the winter of 2006, and by food consumption data from the National Health and Nutrition Survey performed in 2005. The AFT and AFB₁ survey revealed that peanut, peanut products, cocoa, chocolate, pistachio, white pepper, red pepper, almond, job's tears, buckwheat and corn grits are considered to be contributors of AFT (or AFB₁) intake in Japan (maximum AFB₁ (AFT) levels ranged from 0.21 to 28.0 µg kg^?1 (from 0.21 to 9.0 µg kg^?1)) in AFT-contaminated food. A probabilistic approach using the Monte Carlo method was carried out to simulate an estimate of the AFT (or AFB₁) intake distributions in each age group in Japan. In this study, AFB₁ intake ranged from 0.003 to 0.004 ng kg^?1 body weight day^?1 (from lower to upper limits), and the potential risk for cancer using a formula devised by the Joint Food and Agricultural Organization/World Health Organization (FAO/WHO) Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) was estimated at 0.00004–0.00005 person/year/100,000 persons, even though this was in the higher levels (95.0th percentile) of the consumer population. The results suggest that the current dietary intake of AFB₁ in Japan has no appreciable effect on health.     

Aflatoxins and their Metabolites in the Tissues,Faeces and Urine from Lambs Feeding on an Aflatoxin-Contaminated Diet

Twenty-four lambs were intoxicated with 2·5 mg of aflatoxin (AF) kg^-1 in their feed for 21 days. Twelve lambs were slaughtered at day 21 and the remaining animals had an 8 day clearance period. Aflatoxins and their metabolites were detected in liver, kidneys, faeces and urine using TLC and fluorescence densitometry. During the intoxication period, the samples gave a wide range of concentrations, the lower extreme being in the liver and the kidney (0·03 μg kg^-1 of AFG₁) and the higher extreme in faeces (61·82 μg kg^-1 of AFM₁) and urine (27·84 μg litre^-1 of AFM₁). The average value of AFB₁ (1·94±0·9 μg kg^-1) was higher than AFM₁ (0·35±0·17 μg kg^-1) in the liver. In the kidney AFM₁ (5·45±4·01 μg kg^-1) was higher than AFB₁ (1·29±0·84 μg kg^-1). There were higher concentrations of AFM₁ (27·2±16·1 μg kg^-1, 7·37±6·53 μg litre^-1, respectively, of average level) in faeces and urine, than of AFB₁ (17·25±8·1 and 1·78±1·57 μg litre^-1, respectively). AFB_2a appeared in the kidney (0·05±0·03 μg kg^-1) and urine (0·35±0·25 μg litre^-1). The clearance time of AFB₁ from the faeces was less than or equal to 8 days and in all samples aflatoxin residues were still detected on the 8th day of the clearance period although in low quantities. These results suggest that aflatoxin transfer to and elimination by the liver and the renal tissue is small and that the danger to humans consuming lamb meat is also small. The examination of the faeces and urine could be useful as markers to detect lambs consuming a contaminated diet. © 1997 SCI.     

Hardaliye: fermented grape juice as a traditional Turkish beverage

Twenty-six aged hardaliye samples, collected from different spots of the Kirklareli province of Turkey and hardaliye produced in laboratory conditions using the traditional method were investigated in this study. The pH ranged from 3·21 to 3·97. Red colour (Hunter Lab a_Lvalue) of samples ranged from 1·33 to 9·66. The total bacterial count ranged from 3·5×10²to 8×10⁵cfu ml⁻¹. The lactic acid bacteria counts of the samples were found to be between 1·0×10²and 4·0×10⁴cfu ml⁻¹. Yeasts and moulds, which were found in 21 samples out of 26, ranged from 1·0×10²to 8·1×10⁴cfu ml⁻¹. Coliforms and Escherichia coli were found in none of the samples. The changes of some microbiological and chemical properties of hardaliye during fermentation were investigated. The pH of hardaliye dropped from 3·86 to 3·39. The ethanol content of the end product was determined as 595·50 mg dl⁻¹. During the fermentation process, the total bacteria count, lactic acid bacteria count and yeast count changed from 2·1×10⁵, 6·0×10⁴and 1·2×10⁵cfu ml⁻¹to 1·3×10², 1·2×10³and 1·1×10³cfu ml⁻¹, respectively.Lactobacilli isolated from hardaliye samples were characterized by API 50 CH and other phenotypic criteria. A succession of Lactobacillus species, dominated by L. paracasei subsp. paracasei and L. casei subsp. pseudoplantarum were found during the fermentation process.     

Global occurrence of aflatoxin M1 in milk with particular reference to Iran

Aflatoxin M₁ (AFM₁) is an hydroxylated derivative of aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁), which occurs in the milk of lactating animals. The aim of the present study was to determine the concentrations of AFM₁ in raw milk samples collected from 18 dairy farms in Qazvin, Iran, over a period of 1 year and compare them with those found in other countries. Samples (30 per farm) were collected in the four seasons, Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter occurring between April 2009 and March 2010, giving a total of 2160 samples. They were centrifuged and 100 μl of the resulting skimmed milk were tested for AFM₁ contamination by competitive enzyme immunoassay (EIA). All samples (100 %) were contaminated with AFM₁ with concentrations ranging from 0.04 to 148.01 ng.l^?1 and a mean of 38.82 ng.l^?1. Summer samples with a mean of 64.69 ng.l^?1 and autumn samples with a mean of 0.14 ng.l^?1 had the highest and lowest concentrations, respectively, and differed significantly (P?<?0.05). AFM₁ content in 722 samples (33.4 %) was higher than the maximum tolerance limit of 50 ng.l^?1 accepted by the European Union (EU). As contamination of milk with AFM₁ is a potential risk for human health, raw milk should be monitored for its presence.     

Aflatoxin M1 in raw milk and aflatoxin B1 in feed from household cows in Singida,Tanzania

Aflatoxin M₁ (AFM₁) contamination in raw milk from household cows fed with sunflower seedcakes or sunflower-based seedcake feeds was determined in 37 milk samples collected randomly from different locations in Singida region, Tanzania. Aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁) contamination in sunflower-based seedcake feed was determined in 20 feed samples collected from the same household dairy farmers. The samples were analysed by RP-HPLC using fluorescent detection after immunoaffinity column clean-up. Recoveries were 88.0% and 94.5%, while the limits of detection (LOD) were 0.026 ng mL^?1 and 0.364 ng g^?1 for AFM₁ and AFB₁, respectively. Of the analysed cow’s milk samples, 83.8% (31/37) contained AFM₁, with levels ranging from LOD to 2.007 ng mL^?1, exceeding both the European Commission (EC) and Tanzania Food and Drug Authority (TFDA) limit of 0.05 ng mL^?1. Of the contaminated samples, 16.1% exceeded the Codex Alimentarius limit of 0.5 ng mL^?1. AFB₁ was present in 65% (13/20) of the feed samples with levels ranging from LOD to 20.47 ng g^?1, 61.53% exceeding the TFDA and EC maximum limits of 5 ng g^?1 for complete dairy animal feed. The observed AFM₁ and AFB₁ contamination necessitates the need to raise awareness to dairy farmers in Tanzania to safeguard the health of the end-users.     

Development of rapid immunoassays for the detection of ractopamine in swine urine

The monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against ractopamine (Rac) were prepared and their properties identified by indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunoabsorbant assay (ELISA). The IC₅₀ of mAbs was 2.7 ng ml^?1 towards Rac or 9.3 ng ml^?1 towards Rac-glucuronides and no cross-reactivity (CR) towards other competitors except dobutamine (CR: 3.76%). Based on the mAbs, the Rac-kit (kit) and Rac-strip (strip) were developed to detect Rac residues in swine urine. The strip and kit assay could be performed within 5–10 min and 2 h, respectively, allowing the analysis of urine samples without the need for sample clean-up. The detection limits were 1 ng ml^?1 for kit and 3 ng ml^?1 with the unaided eye, and 0.2 ng ml^?1 with the Strip Reader for strip. The correlation coefficients (R ²) were 0.988 for kit in the range 0–128.0 ng ml^?1, and 0.987 for strip in the range 0–10.8 ng ml^?1. Comparing the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) with the kit or strip in swine urine spiked with Rac standards, the differences ranged from 1.4% to 4.5% for kit and 1.0% to 4.7% for strip. However, the differences were greater than 54% for the kit and 55% for the strip test for the analysis of urine from swine treated with Rac. The results obtained from GC-MS using hydrolysed urine samples were generally in good agreement with those obtained from strip or kit using non-hydrolysed urine samples.     

A New Extraction Method for the Determination of Oxytocin in Milk by Enzyme Immune Assay or High-Performance Liquid Chromatography: Validation by Liquid Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry

There has been a controversy regarding the use of exogenous oxytocin (OT) in milking cattle which may have toxicological consequences during nonphysiological exposure. In the present study, a new sensitive extraction method for OT was developed followed by enzyme immune assay (EIA) or high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. The extraction of OT in milk involves two steps: (1) TCA precipitation of milk proteins and (2) solid-phase extraction (SPE) cleanup process. Without these steps, analysis of OT in milk was not possible. Utilizing EIA as a quantitative tool the limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantitation (LOQ) were found to be 7.74 and 10.3 pg?ml^?1, precision in terms of intra- and interday coefficient of variation was below 13 % (%RSD, N?=?8), while percent recoveries were between 85 and 92 %. Utilizing UV-HPLC, the LOD, LOQ, precision, and recovery values were found to be 4.1 ng?ml^?1, 9.8 ng?ml^?1, 2–10 %, and 84–91 %, respectively. OT was found to be stable against adverse temperature (up to 100 °C) and pH (2 to 10) and simulated gastric fluid digestibility assay. Four milk samples collected from the market were analyzed, which showed that TCA precipitation and SPE steps are mandatory and the results were validated by LC-MS showing mass ion peak at 1 kD.