Experimental study of deoxynivalenol biomarkers in urine

Abstract

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is one of the most commonly occurring trichothecenes, produced mainly by Fusarium graminearum. The project aimed to provide data on levels of total DON and de-epoxy deoxynivalenol (DOM-1) in human urine samples collected from different population groups (children, adolescents, adults, elderly, vegetarians, pregnant women) in Italy, Norway and the United Kingdom (UK) as analysed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Morning urine samples were collected over two consecutive days from 635 volunteers and associated food consumption was recorded on the same days. Levels of DON did not significantly differ between day 1 and day 2 urine samples. DON was detected in 99 %, 93 % and 76 % of the urine samples from Norway, UK and Italy, respectively. The median total DON concentrations were similar between population groups in Italy and Norway, but were approximately 3-fold higher in the sampled UK population. In Norway and the UK, levels of DON were roughly 2.5-fold higher in children compared with adults. For DOM-1, 12 % of Norwegian and 1.5 % of Italian urine samples were positive, but DOM-1 was not detected in any sample from the UK. This difference may be explained by differences across analytical sites in the limit of quantification (LoQ). Associations between food consumption and urinary DON levels were assessed by ordered logistic regression models. In Italy, intakes of pasta and pasta-like products were significantly associated with higher levels of total DON after correction for creatinine on both days. In Norway, intakes of breakfast cereals and snacks (day 1) and bread and bread-like foods (day 1 and 2) were significantly associated with a higher level of total DON adjusted for creatinine. In the UK, biscuit intakes on day 1 were significantly associated with a higher level of the toxin. © Istituto Superiore di Sanità -ISS -Italy, 2015

Determination of Deoxynivalenol in the Urine of Pregnant Women in the UK

“…The higher intake of chapattis by women of South Asian origin was attributed to the higher level of DON when compared with women of non-South Asian origin (GM 15.2 vs. 8.6 ng DON/mg creatinine, respectively). For the pregnant females in Hull the only significant correlation was found between ng total DON/mg creatinine on day 1 with baked goods [12]. Baked goods are defined as sweet biscuits such as digestives or hobnobs, excluding fine bakery wares such as croissants and cakes.…”

“…The data utilised in this study is extracted from a larger study to answer a call from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) GP/EFSA/CONTAM/2013/04 into the Experimental study of deoxynivalenol biomarkers in urine [12]. The study collected data on the occurrence of DON and its metabolites in urine from European population groups, namely children, adolescents, adults, elderly, vegetarians (defined as following the diet for >1 year) and pregnant women and to develop reliable information on the associations between concentrations of DON in urine and self-reported cereal food consumption in the investigated subjects.…”

“…Box plot of ( a ) unadjusted and ( b ) creatinine-adjusted total DON concentrations in pregnant women’s urine samples for day 1 (blue) and day 2 (red) [12]. The band inside the box is the second quartile (P50, median).…”

“…The data utilised in this study is extracted from a larger study funded by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) call GP/EFSA/CONTAM/2013/04 into the Experimental study of deoxynivalenol biomarkers in urine [12]. …”

Strategies for estimating human exposure to mycotoxins via food

“…These studies were based on only one urine sample per person, and thus the collection can be fairly easy (Heyndrickx et al, 2014;Solfrizzo et al, 2014). However, authors of a recent study, whereby the exposure to DON in three EU countries using these urinary biomarkers was assessed, strongly advice to collect 24-hours urine (Brera et al, 2015).…”