Tracing fungi secondary metabolites in Brazil nuts using LC-MS/MS

Drug Metab Lett. 2011 Aug;5(3):150-5. doi: 10.2174/187231211796905053.

Abstract

This screening aimed to evaluate quantitatively the occurrence of fungal metabolites in Brazil nuts. Nuts were collected from Agroforest production areas in Amazon basin region. A total of 235 mycotoxins (including the most prominent ones) was screened by a multi-mycotoxin method based on HPLC-MS/MS. The recovery of metabolites by the method was between 56 and 136%. Fifteen mycotoxins were detected and quantified, in at least one sample; namely, aflatoxins (AFB(1), AFB(2), AFG(1), and AFM(1)), sterigmatocystin, methyl-sterigmatocystin, kojic acid, citrinin, cyclosporin A, cyclosporin C, cyclosporin D, cyclosporin H, rugulosin, alternariol-methylether and emodin. This is the first study dealing with the detection of the latter nine metabolites in Brazil nuts. Alternariol-methylether (from 0.75 to 3.2 µg/kg) was the only metabolite detected in all analyzed samples.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Bertholletia / microbiology*
  • Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid / methods
  • Fungi / isolation & purification*
  • Fungi / metabolism
  • Mycotoxins / analysis
  • Mycotoxins / isolation & purification*
  • Tandem Mass Spectrometry / methods

Substances

  • Mycotoxins