Natural Occurrence of Mycotoxins in Maize in North China

Sirui Cheng; Xiaoxiao Feng; Guoxin Liu; Nan Zhao; Jing Liu; Zhimeng Zhang; Nan Yang; Luqi Zhou; Minhao Pang; Bowen Tang; Jingao Dong; Bin Zhao; Yingchao Liu

doi:10.3390/toxins14080521

Natural Occurrence of Mycotoxins in Maize in North China

Toxins (Basel). 2022 Jul 29;14(8):521. doi: 10.3390/toxins14080521.

Authors

Sirui Cheng¹, Xiaoxiao Feng¹, Guoxin Liu¹, Nan Zhao¹, Jing Liu¹, Zhimeng Zhang¹, Nan Yang¹, Luqi Zhou¹, Minhao Pang¹, Bowen Tang¹, Jingao Dong¹, Bin Zhao¹, Yingchao Liu¹

Affiliation

¹ State Key Laboratory of North China Crop Improvement and Regulation, College of Plant Protection, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding 071001, China.

Abstract

Mycotoxins seriously threaten the quality of maize seriously around the world. A total of 426 samples of maize kernel from northeast and northwest China were analyzed in this study. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) was performed to analyze the mycotoxin contamination of maize samples. The results showed that it was contaminated by mycotoxins in maize. The average contamination levels of fumonisins, deoxynivalenol, aflatoxins, zearalenone, ochratoxin A, T-2 and HT-2 were 937, 431, 22, 27, 2 and 12 μg/kg, respectively. Concentration of mycotoxins in some samples exceeded their limit, but most were still at safe levels. The contamination level of FBs and DON were most significative. The proportion of mycotoxins exceeding the maximum limit standard was in the following order: 8.0%, 8.0%, 7.0%, 1.6%, 1.4% and 0.0%. The contamination of mycotoxins in maize varies from region to region.

Keywords: maize; mycotoxins; occurrence.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Chromatography, Liquid
Food Contamination / analysis
Mycotoxins* / analysis
Tandem Mass Spectrometry / methods
Zea mays / chemistry

Substances

Mycotoxins

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Hebei Province: No. C2021204093, No. C2020204017 and No. C2021204137; China Agriculture Research System No. CARS-02; Key projects of science and technology research in Colleges and universities of Hebei Province: No. ZD2020319; S & T Program of Hebei: No. 20326510D and No. 19226503D.