COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT OF METHODS FOR DETECTING FUMONISINS IN GRAIN BASED FOODS

Authors: Maragos, Chris; Plattner, Ronald

Submitted to: Corn Dry Milling Conference
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/2/1995
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Because of the substantial interest in fumonisins, a large variety of analytical methods have been reported for quantitation of these mycotoxins. All of the methods utilize an organic extraction of the food, typically using methanol/water or acetonitrile/water mixtures. Prior to detection by most analytical methods, the fumonisins are isolated from the organic extract using solid phase extraction columns. In the most widely used procedure, the fumonisins are separated by HPLC after reaction with o-phthaldehyde (OPA) to yield a fluorescent derivative. This method has been collaboratively studied. Immunochemical methods that do not require the use of sophisticated instrumentation have also been reported. Several enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) are commercially available. Published reports have suggested that ELISAs tend to overestimate the amount of fumonisin present in corn relative to that found using the HPLC-OPA method. Current literature, and our own experience with the agreement between instrumental and ELISA methods, will be discussed.