Natural Occurrence of Ochratoxin A Contamination in Commercial Spices in Tehran

Abstract

A B S T R A C TBackground and Objectives: Non-sanitary conditions during the drying, transport and storage stages in the production of spices could introduce mycotoxin contamination. The aim of the current study was to determine the concentration of ochratoxin A (OTA) in 92 commercial spices (including red pepper, black pepper, turmeric and cinnamon) imported to Iran. Materials and Methods:OTA levels were determined using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection coupled with immunoaffinity column clean-up step. Mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile-water-acetic acid (49.5:49.5:1.0, v/v/v), and the flow rate was 1 ml/min. Results:The recovery values ranged from 77.10% ± 6.66 to 94.84% ± 8.38 for spiking of cinnamon at 0.5 and 5 ng/g, respectively. Overall, 29 out of the 92 (31.5%) samples were contaminated with OTA ranged from 0.45 to 18.64 ng/g. The results from statistical analysis revealed that there was significant difference (p<0.05) between the types of spices in the concentration of OTA. Conclusions:Incidence of OTA contamination in red pepper and cinnamon was significantly higher than in black pepper and turmeric. The highest concentration of OTA was detected in a sample of red pepper (18.64 ng/g). The results revealed that it is essential to continue regular monitoring for OTA in imported spices to shield consumer health.

Ochratoxin A in black pepper, white pepper and clove sold in Yaoundé (Cameroon) markets: contamination levels and consumers’ practices increasing health risk

“…Indeed, growth of ochratoxinogenic moulds in these two spices has previously been reported in literature (Karan et al 2005;Toma and Abdulla, 2013).The OTA levels obtained from the white pepper analysed in this study are in general below those reported by Jalili et al (2010) in white pepper from various market outlets in Malaysia (0.15-13.58 μg/kg). As for levels of OTA obtained in black pepper samples in this study, they are also lower than those reported by Jalili (2016) in similar samples imported into Iran (3.31 ± 2.69 μg/kg) and by Toma and Abdulla (2013) in samples collected from a common market in Erbil city, Iraq (5.8 μg/kg).This suggests a difference in the agricultural or manufacturing (handling, packaging and storage) practices, or the variability of the fungal profile. Besides, as also reported by Jalili (2016), the difference between the environmental conditions (which is an important factor affecting mycotoxin contamination) can also explain the difference between these results.…”

A Review on Mycotoxins and Microfungi in Spices in the Light of the Last Five Years

“…The CIT occurrence has been proven as moderate in chili, ginger, coriander, and fenugreek; as low in black pepper and licorice; and none in basil, nutmeg, oregano, thyme, and turmeric-see Table 5. [8,9,109,110,112,116,121,122,125,126] Notes: a AFB 1 = Aflatoxin B 1 , AFB 2 = Aflatoxin B 2 , AFG 1 = Aflatoxin G 1 , AFG 2 = Aflatoxin G 2 , AFs = Aflatoxins, OTA = Ochratoxin A, CIT = Citrinin; b Positive = the percentage of positive samples; c n = the total number of samples related to mycotoxin and spice from all publications involved; × = none occurrence (0%), $ = rare occurrence (up to 5%), = low occurrence (up to 25%), = moderate occurrence (up to 50%), = high occurrence (up to 75%), = very high occurrence (more than 75%).…”

“…The highest AFG 2 concentrations in different spices have been reported in paprika (45.4 µg/kg) in Italy [ 107 ], black pepper (16.0 µg/kg) in Egypt, mustard (7.6 µg/kg) in Egypt [ 109 ], chili (1.5 µg/kg) in Turkey [ 115 ], and cinnamon (0.4 µg/kg) in Iran [ 116 ].…”

A Review of Current Methods for Analysis of Mycotoxins in Herbal Medicines

“…Currently, numerous published reviews reported the occurrence of mycotoxin contamination in herbal materials and related products. These reports indicated that mycotoxin contamination in herbal medicines is considered a global issue, particularly in the case of developing countries [ 16 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 ] ( Figure 1 ). To date, more than 40 mycotoxins have been detected in herbal medicines [ 12 , 13 , 40 ].…”