Effect of Enzymatic Deacetylation of T-2 Toxin on the Analysis of T-2 and HT-2 Toxins in Corn and Brown Rice

Abstract

Through an analysis of T-2 and HT-2 toxins in corn and brown rice, the effect of enzymatic deacetylation of T-2 toxin on HT-2 toxin was investigated. Gas chromatography (GC) with electron capture detection and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection were used for quantitative determination. T-2 toxin was converted into HT-2 (84-86%) within 15 min in the presence of crude protein extracts from corn and brown rice. The absence of T-2 conversion was observed for autoclaved samples, in which the enzymes were inactivated. When phosphate buffered saline, followed by methanol, was used as the extraction solvent, recoveries of T-2 toxin spiked at 50 and 200 µg/kg were from 60 to 87%, whereas those of HT-2 in the autoclaved samples were 0%. In non-autoclaved samples, recoveries of HT-2 were 37-66%, whereas those of T-2 were negligible. However, the conversion of T-2 into HT-2 was not observed when samples were extracted by methanol/water.