Sterigmatocystin presence in typical Latvian grains

Ninety five samples of different Latvian grains (wheat, buckwheat, barley, oats and rye) from the year 2006 and 120 samples from the year 2007 were analyzed for Aspergillus ssp. mycotoxin–sterigmatocystin (STC) content. 13.7% of the analyzed 2006 year samples were positive for STC with the concentration levels ranging from <0.7 to 83 μg/kg and 35% of the analyzed 2007 year samples were positive for STC with the concentration levels ranging from <1 to 47 μg/kg. A previously developed sensitive LC – Electrospray Positive Ionization – MS/MS method was applied for the analysis of STC in grains. Method includes sample extraction with acetonitrile/water solution, solid phase extraction (SPE) on Strata X SPE column, separation on reversed phase C₁₈ column and STC detection by LC–MS/MS.