The prevalence of mycotoxins is often increased by climatic conditions prevailing in tropical regions. Therefore, consumers in tropical countries such as Thailand have a higher risk of mycotoxin exposure. Existing reports have revealed mycotoxin contamination in rice. This study was conducted to determine the occurrence of multiple mycotoxins in barley and nine types of rice sold in Thailand and to assess consumer health risk. A total of 300 samples collected from various markets in Thailand were analyzed for the presence of 16 mycotoxins using a QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe) procedure and a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer equipped with an electrospray ionization source. Of the 300 samples, 124 (41.33%) were contaminated with at least one mycotoxin, and 38.71% of the mycotoxin-positive samples were simultaneously contaminated with more than one toxin. The incidence of mycotoxin contamination differed among the rice and barley samples. Beauvericin, diacetoxyscirpenol, zearalenone, and aflatoxins were the most frequently found mycotoxins. However, the concentrations of regulated mycotoxins were below the regulatory limits. The assessed mycotoxin exposure does not represent a health risk for Thai consumers because the estimated exposure concentrations were lower than the tolerable daily intake values established by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives. However, our findings suggest that continued monitoring of mycotoxin contamination in rice and barley and concomitant risk assessments are warranted. HIGHLIGHTS

The purpose of this study was to investigate the pharmacokinetic characteristics of amoxicillin (AMX) trihydrate in male Asian elephants, Elephas maximus, following intramuscular administration at two dosages of 5.5 and 11 mg/kg body weight (b.w.). Blood samples were collected from 0.5 up to 72 h. The concentration of AMX in elephant plasma was measured using liquid chromatography electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. AMX was measurable up to 24 h after administration at two dosages. Peak plasma concentration (Cmax ) was 1.20 ± 0.39 μg/mL after i.m. administration at a dosage of 5.5 mg/kg b.w., whereas it was 3.40 ± 0.63 μg/mL at a dosage of 11 mg/kg b.w. A noncompartment model was developed to describe the disposition of AMX in Asian elephants. Based on the preliminary findings found in this research, the dosage of 5.5 and 11 mg/kg b.w. produced drug plasma concentrations higher than 0.25 mg/mL for 24 h after i.m. administration. Thereafter, i.m. administration with AMX at a dosage of 5.5 mg/kg b.w. appeared a more suitable dose than 11 mg/kg b.w. However, more studies are needed to determine AMX clinical effectiveness in elephants.