[Biological assay for trichothecenes in grain].

Three different extract preparation procedures were used to produce the extracts to be applied to the skin of rabbits. In this way one hundred samples of the grains (wheat - 35, barley - 31, maize - 10, rye - 10, oats - 14) originating from the South Moravian, West Slovakian and East Slovakian regions were tested. These samples were taken from the 1980 crop which grew under climatic conditions extremely suitable for the growth of fusaria and the production of mycotoxins. Out of one hundred tested samples only five (5%) had a toxic effect on the rabbit skin. Out of these five samples only three (3%) contained T-2 toxin at the amount of 1 mg . kg-1 (two barley samples) and 0.1 mg . kg-1 (one barley sample) when examined semiquantitatively. The dermal changes evoked by two other samples were caused by other mycotoxins of the trichothecene group because the phenomenon typical of T-2 toxin (stronger skin reaction after 48 hrs than after 24 hrs after application) was not observed. The described method is recommended for screening examination of the grains for the presence of trichothecene mycotoxins.