Laboratory of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine of Sousse, University of Sousse, Av. Mohamed El Karoui, Sousse, Tunisia.
Department of Microbiology and Ecology, University of Valencia, Dr. Moliner 50, Burjassot, Valencia, Spain.
J AOAC Int. 2021 Aug 20;104(4):959-967. doi: 10.1093/jaoacint/qsab020.
Fusarium is a worldwide distributed fungal genus. It includes different species pathogenic to cereals among others crops. Some of these species can also produce toxic compounds toward animals and humans.
In this work, occurrence of fumonisins B1+B2, zearalenone, type A trichothecenes (T-2 and HT-2 toxins), and type B trichothecenes (deoxynivalenol[DON] and nivalenol[NIV]) was studied in 65 samples of stored and freshly harvested wheat, barley, and maize collected in Tunisia.
Mycotoxins analyses were performed by using gas chromatography for type B trichothecenes and HPLC for other mycotoxins. Obtained results were compared with the presence of mycotoxigenic species considered responsible for their synthesis by using species-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
Fumonisins occurred in 20.83% of wheat, 40% of barley, and 57.14% of maize samples, at levels exceeding European limits and suggesting a risk in Tunisian cereals, especially maize. Zearalenone, DON, NIV, and T-2+HT-2 toxins were detected at lower values in only wheat and barley samples. PCR protocols showed the predominance of F. verticillioides especially in maize, and occurrence of F. equiseti and F. graminearum in wheat and barley, and F. proliferatum in only two maize samples. A very consistent correlation was found between the detection of F. verticillioides and the contamination by fumonisins, as well as between the presence of F. graminearum and the contamination by zearalenone, DON, and NIV in the analyzed cereals.
Consequently, the detection of Fusarium species with the current PCR assays strategy in wheat, barley, and maize grains may be considered predictive of their potential mycotoxin risk in these matrices.
This work is the first to report information on the occurrence of fumonisins, trichothecene, and ZEN, together with their potentially producing Fusarium species in wheat, barley, and maize in Tunisia. The high level of fumonisins in cereals, especially maize, stresses the importance of the control and the regularization of these mycotoxins for food safety.
镰刀菌是一种分布广泛的真菌属。它包括对谷物和其他作物等具有致病性的不同物种。其中一些物种还可以产生对动物和人类有毒的化合物。
本工作研究了 65 份来自突尼斯的储存和新鲜收获的小麦、大麦和玉米样本中玉米赤霉烯酮、A型单端孢霉烯族毒素（T-2 和 HT-2 毒素）、B 型单端孢霉烯族毒素（脱氧雪腐镰刀菌烯醇[DON]和雪腐镰刀菌烯醇[NIV]）和伏马菌素 B1+B2 的含量。
采用气相色谱法分析 B 型单端孢霉烯族毒素，高效液相色谱法分析其他霉菌毒素。利用种特异性聚合酶链反应（PCR）比较了产生霉菌毒素的物种的存在情况，以确定其产生原因。
在 20.83%的小麦、40%的大麦和 57.14%的玉米样本中发现了伏马菌素，其含量超过了欧洲限量，表明突尼斯谷物，特别是玉米存在风险。仅在小麦和大麦样本中检测到较低水平的玉米赤霉烯酮、DON、NIV 和 T-2+HT-2 毒素。PCR 方案显示，玉米中 F. verticillioides 占优势，小麦和大麦中 F. equiseti 和 F. graminearum 以及仅在两个玉米样本中发现 F. proliferatum 占优势。在分析的谷物中，发现 F. verticillioides 与伏马菌素污染、F. graminearum 与玉米赤霉烯酮、DON 和 NIV 污染之间存在非常一致的相关性。
因此，在小麦、大麦和玉米谷物中采用当前 PCR 检测策略检测镰刀菌种类，可作为这些基质中潜在霉菌毒素风险的预测指标。
本研究首次报道了突尼斯小麦、大麦和玉米中伏马菌素、单端孢霉烯族毒素和 ZEN 及其潜在产毒真菌的含量。谷物，尤其是玉米中伏马菌素含量较高，强调了控制和规范这些霉菌毒素以确保食品安全的重要性。
