Juma Sharifa, Mgina Clarence, Kilulya Kessy F
Chemistry Department, University of Dar es Salaam, P. O. Box, 35061 Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Afr Health Sci. 2024 Jun;24(2):140-151. doi: 10.4314/ahs.v24i2.17.
Aflatoxins are a family of toxins produced by fungi species known as Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus. Contamination of aflatoxins in agricultural crops is of high concern as it has negative effects on public health.
This study reports on the levels of aflatoxins in four types of spices (black pepper, turmeric, cardamom and garlic) collected from markets, stores and farms in selected locations of Tanzania.
A total of 84 samples of selected spices were collected. The determination of aflatoxins was performed using high-performance liquid chromatography, coupled with fluorescence detector.
The results obtained showed that 64 samples (76%) were contaminated with total aflatoxins at varying levels with respect to location and weather conditions. Mean concentrations of total aflatoxins ranged from < DL to 8.41 ngg for black pepper, from < DL to 0.22 ngg for garlic, from < DL to 11.07 ngg for cardamom and from 0.28 to 2.21 ngg for turmeric. 4.7% of samples exceeded the maximum tolerable limit of 10 ngg for total aflatoxins (TAF) set by European Commission and 7 (8.33 %) samples exceeded the maximum tolerable limit of 5 ngg for Aflatoxin B.
The observed aflatoxin contamination gives an alert for control of aflatoxins for improved public health.
黄曲霉毒素是由黄曲霉和寄生曲霉等真菌产生的一类毒素。农作物中黄曲霉毒素的污染备受关注，因为它对公众健康有负面影响。
本研究报告了从坦桑尼亚特定地点的市场、商店和农场采集的四种香料（黑胡椒、姜黄、小豆蔻和大蒜）中的黄曲霉毒素水平。
共采集了84份选定香料的样本。使用高效液相色谱仪结合荧光检测器进行黄曲霉毒素的测定。
所得结果表明，64个样本（76%）受到总黄曲霉毒素的不同程度污染，污染程度因地点和天气条件而异。黑胡椒中总黄曲霉毒素的平均浓度范围为<检测限至8.41纳克/克，大蒜为<检测限至0.22纳克/克，小豆蔻为<检测限至11.07纳克/克，姜黄为0.28至2.21纳克/克。4.7%的样本超过了欧盟委员会设定的总黄曲霉毒素（TAF）10纳克/克的最大耐受限量，7个（8.33%）样本超过了黄曲霉毒素B 5纳克/克的最大耐受限量。
观察到的黄曲霉毒素污染为控制黄曲霉毒素以改善公众健康敲响了警钟。
