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First survey on the natural occurrence of Fusarium mycotoxins in Bulgarian wheat

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Abstract

Wheat for human consumption (140 samples) was collected after harvest from all regions of Bulgaria. The 1995 crop year was characterized by heavy rainfall in the spring and summer months. The internal mycoflora of wheat samples was dominated by Fusarium spp. and Alternaria spp., and storage fungi were rarely present. The samples were analysed for contamination with Fusarium mycotoxins deoxynivalenol (DON), 3-acetyldeoxynivalenol (3-AcDON), 15-acetyldeoxynivalenol (15-AcDON), T-2 Toxin (T-2), diacetoxyscirpenol (DAS), and zearalenone (ZEA), using enzyme immunoassay methods. DON and ZEA were the predominant toxins, with a contamination frequency of 67% and 69%, respectively. The average levels of these toxins in positive samples were 180 μg/kg (DON) and 17 μg/kg (ZEA), maximum concentrations were 1800 μg kg−1 and 120 μg kg−1, respectively. Acetyl derivatives of DON, namely 3-AcDON and 15-AcDON, were found in 2.1 % and 0.7% of the samples, at at maximum level of about 100 μg kg−1. Only one sample was positive for T-2 (55 μg/kg), DAS was not detected. This is the first report about the natural occurrence of a range of Fusarium mycotoxins in wheat for human consumption in Bulgaria.

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Abbreviations

3-AcDON:

3-acetyldeoxynivalenol

15-AcDON:

15-acetyldeoxynivalenol

DAS:

diacetoxyscirpenol

DON:

deoxynivalenol

EIA:

enzyme immunoassay

T-2:

T-2 toxin

ZEA:

zearalenone

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mycotoxicological Laboratory, National Centre, of Hygiene, Sofia, Bulgaria

    Terry Vrabcheva

  2. Institute for Hygiene and Technology of Food of Animal Origin, Veterinary Faculty, University of Munich, Munich, Germany

    Renate Geßler, Ewald Usleber & Erwin Märtlbauer

Authors
  1. Terry Vrabcheva
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  2. Renate Geßler
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  3. Ewald Usleber
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  4. Erwin Märtlbauer
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ewald Usleber.

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Vrabcheva, T., Geßler, R., Usleber, E. et al. First survey on the natural occurrence of Fusarium mycotoxins in Bulgarian wheat. Mycopathologia 136, 47–52 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00436660

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00436660

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