Determination of Ochratoxin A (OTA), Ochratoxin B (OTB), T-2, and HT-2 Toxins in Wheat Grains, Wheat Flour, and Bread in Lebanon by LC-MS/MS

Abstract

Cereals are prone to fungal infection during growth, harvesting, transportation, and/or storage. As a result, cereals such as wheat grains and wheat-derived products may be contaminated with mycotoxins leading to acute and chronic health exposure. The current study investigated the presence of the mycotoxins: ochratoxin A (OTA), ochratoxin B (OTB), T-2, and HT-2 toxins in samples of wheat grains (n = 50), wheat flour (n = 50), and bread (n = 37) from the main mills in Lebanon using LC-MS/MS. Accuracy ranged from 98–100%, recoveries from 93–105%, and intraday and interday precision were 5–7% and 9–12%, respectively. The tested wheat grains, wheat flour, and bread samples did not contain detectable levels of T-2 and HT-2 toxins and OTB. Four wheat flour samples (8% of flour samples) showed positive OTA levels ranging from 0.6–3.4 μg·kg−1 with an arithmetic mean of 1.9 ± 0.2 μg·kg−1. Only one sample contained an OTA concentration greater than the limit set by the European Union (3 μg·kg−1) for wheat-derived products. This study suggests that mycotoxin contamination of wheat grains, wheat flour, and bread in Lebanon is currently not a serious public health concern. However, surveillance strategies and monitoring programs must be routinely implemented to ensure minimal mycotoxin contamination of wheat-based products.

Incidence and exposure assessment of aflatoxins and ochratoxin A in Egyptian wheat

“…Joubrane et al [ 34 ] recorded that 28.21 % of wheat samples collected during the 2008 cultivation season from Lebanon were contaminated with OTA at concentrations (>3 μg/kg), while 19.20 % of wheat samples collected during the 2009 cultivation season were contaminated with OTA at concentrations (>3 μg/kg). Recently, Elaridi et al [ 46 ] revealed that OTA was not detected in wheat samples obtained from Lebanon. The situations of the grains at harvest depend on, how carefully the grains are dried, and on the storage conditions [ 47 ].…”

Semi‐quantitative and quantitative detection of ochratoxin A in agricultural by‐products using a self‐assembling immunochromatographic strip

“…used salting‐out assisted liquid–liquid extraction (SALLE) coupled with high‐performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (HPLC–MS) to detect OTA in beer samples, revealing a detection limit of 0.02 ng mL −1 14 . The established HPLC‐tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) method used for the simultaneous detection of OTA, ochratoxin B (OTB), and T‐2 toxin in wheat products has a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.12 ng mL −1 for OTA 15 . Sun et al .…”

“…14 The established HPLC-tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) method used for the simultaneous detection of OTA, ochratoxin B (OTB), and T-2 toxin in wheat products has a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.12 ng mL −1 for OTA. 15 Sun et al developed a graphene aptamer platform based on electrochemical analysis to detect OTA with a LOD of 5.6 pg mL −1 . 16 Many immunoassays have also been developed for the detection of OTA.…”

Molecular Diagnostic of Ochratoxin A With Specific Aptamers in Corn and Groundnut via Fabrication of a Microfluidic Device

“…According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), OTA has been classified as a group 2B carcinogen ( 4 , 5 ). It was observed that there was an occurrence of renal tumors when the dietary intake was more than 70 μg/kg of OTA per day in humans ( 6 ). In chicken farms, feeding OTA-contaminated feed at a rate of 0.025 g/kg over an extended period of time may result in tumour progression in the liver, kidneys, ureters, or spleen ( 7 ).…”