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

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 m...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jomana Elaridi, Osama Yamani, Amira Al Matari, Saada Dakroub, Zouhair Attieh
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2019-08-01
Series:Toxins
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/11/8/471
Description
Summary: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 (<i>n</i> = 50), wheat flour (<i>n</i> = 50), and bread (<i>n</i> = 37) from the main mills in Lebanon using LC-MS/MS. Accuracy ranged from 98&#8722;100%, recoveries from 93&#8722;105%, and intraday and interday precision were 5&#8722;7% and 9&#8722;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&#8722;3.4 &#956;g&#183;kg<sup>&#8722;1</sup> with an arithmetic mean of 1.9 &#177; 0.2 &#956;g&#183;kg<sup>&#8722;1</sup>. Only one sample contained an OTA concentration greater than the limit set by the European Union (3 &#956;g&#183;kg<sup>&#8722;1</sup>) 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.
ISSN:2072-6651