Efficacy of Different C18 HPLC Analytical Columns in the Analysis of Fumonisins B1 and B2 in Different Matrices

Fumonisins B1 and B2 are carcinogenic and commonly contaminate corn and corn-based products. Analysis of such toxins using C18 HPLC column is officially accredited but still unknown if all column types can effectively separate FB1 and FB2 or not. The present study evaluated the efficiency of 5 analytical columns with different dimensions, particle sizes, and porosities to determine these toxins in both agar cultures of Fusarium verticillioides and cornflakes. Interestingly, the traditional column 150mm of length with 5µm porous particles had close retention times to those of the short-fused core column 75mm of length with 2.7 µm reflecting in time and solvents saving. Using Sep-Pack C18 for clean-up played an important role in enhancement the limit of quantification (LOQ) for cornflake samples (5-13.7 and 16.1-39 µg kg-1 for FB1 and FB2, respectively). However, it was relatively higher for fungal culture samples that were not passed through the cleaning-up step (11.5-16 and 28.1-46.3 µg kg-1 for FB1 and FB2, respectively). Overall, the lowest LOQ was obtained using the shorter fused core column. Finally, using such clean-up in the extraction of FB1 and FB2 from spiked cornflakes samples gave good recoveries (>80%) using all tested columns.

Diversity and Toxigenicity of Fungi that Cause Pineapple Fruitlet Core Rot

The identity of the fungi responsible for fruitlet core rot (FCR) disease in pineapple has been the subject of investigation for some time. This study describes the diversity and toxigenic potential of fungal species causing FCR in La Reunion, an island in the Indian Ocean. One-hundred-and-fifty fungal isolates were obtained from infected and healthy fruitlets on Reunion Island and exclusively correspond to two genera of fungi: Fusarium and Talaromyces. The genus Fusarium made up 79% of the isolates, including 108 F. ananatum, 10 F. oxysporum, and one F. proliferatum. The genus Talaromyces accounted for 21% of the isolated fungi, which were all Talaromyces stollii. As the isolated fungal strains are potentially mycotoxigenic, identification and quantification of mycotoxins were carried out on naturally or artificially infected diseased fruits and under in vitro cultures of potential toxigenic isolates. Fumonisins B1 and B2 (FB1-FB2) and beauvericin (BEA) were found in infected fruitlets of pineapple and in the culture media of Fusarium species. Regarding the induction of mycotoxin in vitro, F. proliferatum produced 182 mg kg⁻1 of FB1 and F. oxysporum produced 192 mg kg⁻1 of BEA. These results provide a better understanding of the causal agents of FCR and their potential risk to pineapple consumers.

Occurrence of Mycotoxins in Swine Feeding from Spain

A survey including 228 pig feed samples from Spain has been developed, exploring the occurrence of 19 mycotoxins (aflatoxins B1, B2, G1 and G2, ochratoxin A, fumonisins B1 and B2, citrinin, zearalenone, deoxynivalenol, fusarenon X, sterigmatocystin, T-2 toxin, HT-2 toxin, enniatins A, A1, B and B2, and beauvericin). The samples were analysed by solid-liquid extraction followed by liquid chromatography coupled with fluorescence or mass spectrometry detection. Enniatin B was found in 100% of the samples (up to 1200 µg/kg) and beauvericin in more than 90%. Moreover, 40% of samples were contaminated with more than five mycotoxins. This high occurrence is insurmountable and surpasses all previous studies, probably due to the inclusion of emerging mycotoxins, scarcely explored. The majority of the samples (96.9%) were in accordance with EU regulations, which do not address emerging mycotoxins or co-occurrence. These results show that in order to ensure mycotoxin absence, emerging mycotoxins should always be considered.