Simultaneous Detection of Ochratoxin A and Aflatoxins in Industrial and Traditional Red and isot Pepper Flakes along with Dietary Exposure Risk Assessment

Abstract

This study focused on the co-occurrence of aflatoxins (AFs) and ochratoxin A (OTA) in traditionally and industrially dried red pepper flakes (DRPFs) and isot pepper flakes (IPFs). Following the multitoxin immunoaffinity column (IAC) clean-up, high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with fluorescence detection (HPLC-FLD) was used to quantify AFs and OTA. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) values were 0.11 and 0.18 μg kg –1 (AFB 1 ), 0.04 and 0.08 μg kg –1 (AFB 2 ), 0.13 and 0.18 μg kg –1 (AFG 1 ), 0.04 and 0.11 μg kg –1 (AFG 2 ), and 0.10 and 0.21 μg kg –1 (OTA), respectively. AFB 1, AFB 2 , AFG 1 , and OTA were found to be positive in 93, 74, 17, and 94% of all samples, respectively. The contamination levels in positive samples ranged from 0.23 to 38.69, 0.04 to 2.14, 0.13 to 0.88, and 0.18 to 52.19 μg kg –1 for AFB 1 , AFB 2 , AFG 1 , and OTA, respectively, while no AFG 2 was found above the detection limit (0.04 μg kg –1 ). None of the industrial isot peppers exceeded the European Union limits, while the levels of AFB 1 (5 μg kg –1 ), total AFs (10 μg kg –1 ), and OTA (20 μg kg –1 ) of the traditional peppers were above the limit by 30% (16/54), 26% (14/54), and 4% (2/54), respectively. Co-occurrence of AFB 1 -AFB 2 -OTA was the most frequent, accounting for 54% (29/54) of all samples. At the upper bound (UB), estimated average exposure to AFB 1 , total AFs, and OTA was determined to be 0.175, 0.189, and 0.124 ng kg –1 bw day –1 in all samples, respectively. The margin of exposure (MoE) value of AFB 1 and total AFs was found to be 977 and 909, indicating high health concerns compared to OTA (MoE >10,000). AFB 1 and total AFs may result in 0.0058 and 0.0062 liver cancer cases/100,000 person/year at UB, respectively, and weekly OTA exposure was 0.868 ng kg –1 bw, well below the provisional tolerable weekly intake, hence not of health concern. AFs exposure could endanger health, whereas OTA posed no toxicological concerns through dried red pepper consumption

Novel advanced materials and magnetic solid phase extraction as approaches in sample preparation to enhance the analysis of ochratoxin A in peanuts

“…7 Consequently, the detection of this toxin is crucial for ensuring food safety. 8 Currently, the commonly used instruments and methods for OTA detection include high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UPLC), 9 liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), 10 colorimetry, 11 uorometry, 12 immunoassay, 13 electrochemical biosensors, 14 etc. In particular, chromatographic methods offer high sensitivity and accuracy, making them suitable for both qualitative and quantitative analyses of various toxins.…”

Exposure And Health Risk Assessment Of Aflatoxins In Hot Red Pepper Marketed In North Shewa Zone, Oromia Region, Ethiopia

“… 9 AFs are extremely toxic and are mainly produced by various strains of Aspergillus , including Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus parasiticus , and Aspergillus nomius . 10 - 12 These secondary metabolites are known for their harmful effects. These AFs have the potential to contaminate various agricultural food products, including cereals, soybeans, grapes, tree nuts, groundnuts, coffee, chocolate, and spices, throughout the entire production and consumption process when environmental conditions are favorable.…”

“…Additionally, nearly 4.5 billion people are potentially exposed to these harmful substances through their daily consumption of contaminated food. 12 , 13 Among the 4 types of AFs (AFB 1 , AFB 2 , AFG 1 , and AFG 2 ), AFB 1 is considered the most toxic. It poses a significant risk for human health issues globally because it causes carcinogenic, teratogenic, hepatotoxic, mutagenic, and immunosuppressive effects on humans and animals.…”

“…It poses a significant risk for human health issues globally because it causes carcinogenic, teratogenic, hepatotoxic, mutagenic, and immunosuppressive effects on humans and animals. 12 , 14 - 17 AFs exposure at high levels has occasionally resulted in the deaths of both humans and animals. For instance, in 1981, the first occurrence of human deaths from consumption of aflatoxin-contaminated maize was reported 12 fatalities 9 in Machako district of Kenya.…”

Stability Evaluation of Aflatoxin B1 Solution Certified Reference Material via Ultra-High Performance Liquid Chromatography Coupled with High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry

“…The method has been developed to measure the fraction of AFB 1 in solutions fast and facilely using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) coupled with a diode array detector (DAD) or mass spectrometry (MS). It has been considered the golden approach for the measurement of AFB 1 fractions due to its high reproducibility and accuracy. ,− Nevertheless, the accuracy of this method largely relies on the certified reference materials (CRMs) of AFB 1 solutions prepared with various organic solvents.…”