Fusarium infection of maize and maize-based products and exposure of a rural population to fumonisin B^sub 1^ in Limpopo Province, South Africa

Fusarium species (spp.) and fumonisin B1 (FB1) contaminations were monitored in maize and porridge consumed by a rural population of Limpopo Province, South Africa. Faecal samples were also analysed for FB1 as a means of estimating the degree of dietary exposure to this mycotoxin. In total, 142 samp...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Food additives & contaminants. Part A, Chemistry, analysis, control, exposure & risk assessment Chemistry, analysis, control, exposure & risk assessment, 2012-11, Vol.29 (11), p.1743
Main Authors: Phoku, JZ, Dutton, MF, Njobeh, PB, Mwanza, M, Egbuta, MA, Chilaka, CA
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Chromatography
Corn
Feces
Food contamination & poisoning
Fungi
Nonnative species
Toxins
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Summary:Fusarium species (spp.) and fumonisin B1 (FB1) contaminations were monitored in maize and porridge consumed by a rural population of Limpopo Province, South Africa. Faecal samples were also analysed for FB1 as a means of estimating the degree of dietary exposure to this mycotoxin. In total, 142 samples of maize (n = 54), porridge (47) and faeces (41) were screened for Fusarium spp. using a serial dilution technique followed by DNA sequencing, while FB1 was further screened and quantified by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), respectively. At least four species of Fusarium were identified, of which F. verticillioides was the most prevalent in all three sample types analysed. The contamination levels of FB1 were significantly higher in 87% of maize sampled (range = 101-53,863 ...g kg...) as compared with porridge (74% incidence rate; range = 0.2-20 ...g kg...) and faecal samples (100% incidence rate; range = 0.3-464 ...g kg...). Thus, it can be deduced that the level of human exposure to FB1 via the consumption of maize was high as several samples contained levels exceeding 1000 ...g kg..., which was strongly supported by the levels found in faecal samples. Further data revealed that a high proportion of FB1 is destroyed or removed by processing maize into porridge. As maize porridge is consumed as a staple, the low levels found provide a means to limit exposure to FB1. Levels of FB1 found in the faeces which were higher indicate that other foods contaminated with the toxin are also consumed. (ProQuest: ... denotes formulae/symbols omitted.)
ISSN:1944-0049
1944-0057