[Assay of moniliformin content in household grains from families in patients with Keshan disease].

Ion-pairing extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) were employed for assaying moniliformin (a fungal toxin) content in the corn (Shaanxi) and rice (Yunnan) samples collected from families suffering from Ke-shan disease. The highest contents were found to be 264 micrograms/kg (corn) and 252 micrograms/kg (rice), while a rice sample from Beijing market showed none. The identity of moniliformin was confirmed by 2D-UV detection and co-HPLC with a synthetic toxin sample. These results strongly support the view that moniliformin is a pathogenic factor of Ke-shan disease.