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. 2019 Jan 17;11(1):54.
doi: 10.3390/toxins11010054.

Regional Sub-Saharan Africa Total Diet Study in Benin, Cameroon, Mali and Nigeria Reveals the Presence of 164 Mycotoxins and Other Secondary Metabolites in Foods

Luc Ingenbleek  1   2 , Michael Sulyok  3 , Abimbola Adegboye  4 , Sètondji Epiphane Hossou  5 , Abdoulaye Zié Koné  6 , Awoyinka Dada Oyedele  7 , Chabi Sika K J Kisito  8 , Yara Koreissi Dembélé  9 , Sara Eyangoh  10 , Philippe Verger  11 , Jean-Charles Leblanc  12 , Bruno Le Bizec  13 , Rudolf Krska  14   15
Affiliations

Regional Sub-Saharan Africa Total Diet Study in Benin, Cameroon, Mali and Nigeria Reveals the Presence of 164 Mycotoxins and Other Secondary Metabolites in Foods

Luc Ingenbleek et al. Toxins (Basel). .

Erratum in

Abstract

In the framework of the first multi-centre Sub-Saharan Africa Total Diet Study (SSA-TDS), 2328 commonly consumed foods were purchased, prepared as consumed and pooled into 194 composite samples of cereals, tubers, legumes, vegetables, nuts and seeds, dairy, oils, beverages and miscellaneous. Those core foods were tested for mycotoxins and other fungal, bacterial and plant secondary metabolites by liquid chromatography, coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. The highest aflatoxin concentrations were quantified in peanuts, peanut oil and maize. The mean concentration of the sum of aflatoxins AFB1, AFB2, AFG1 and AFG2 (AFtot) in peanut samples (56.4 µg/kg) exceeded EU (4 µg/kg) and Codex (15 µg/kg) standards. The AFtot concentration (max: 246.0 µg/kg) was associated with seasonal and geographic patterns and comprised, on average, 80% AFB1, the most potent aflatoxin. Although ochratoxin A concentrations rarely exceeded existing Codex standards, it was detected in unregulated foods. One palm oil composite sample contained 98 different metabolites, including 35.4 µg/kg of ochratoxin A. In total, 164 different metabolites were detected, with unspecific metabolites like asperglaucide, cyclo(L-pro-L-val), cyclo (L-pro-L-tyr), flavoglaucin, emodin and tryptophol occurring in more than 50% of composite samples. Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), fumonisin B1 (FB1), sterigmatocystin (STC), ochratoxin A (OTA), citrinin (CIT) and many other secondary fungal metabolites are frequent co-contaminants in staple foods, such as maize and sorghum. Populations from North Cameroon and from Benin may, therefore, suffer chronic and simultaneous exposure to AFB1, FB1, STC, OTA and CIT, which are prevalent in their diet.

Keywords: LC-MS/MS; Sub-Saharan Africa; aflatoxins; food contaminants; mycotoxins; total diet study.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Most frequently detected secondary metabolites in Sub-Saharan Africa Total Diet Study (SSA-TDS) composite samples.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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