MULTIPLE MYCOTOXINS DETECTED IN 2023 HARVESTED WHEAT AND BARLEY
Jog Raj*, Hunor Farkaš, Svetlana Ćujić, Zdenka Jakovčević, and Marko Vasiljević PATENT CO, DOO., Vlade Ćetkovića 1A, 24 211, Mišićevo, Serbia. *Corresponding author: jog.raj@patent-co.com
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The aim of this study was to determine the level of contamination with mycotoxins in wheat and barley samples received from different regions of Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, and Hungary. The samples were delivered to PATENT CO’s lab between August and October 2023.
In this survey, approximately 400 samples were analyzed for multiple mycotoxins by LC-MS/MS triple quadrupole (Agilent 6460 series) using a multi-mycotoxin method for the quantification of all the mycotoxins present, including:
Aflatoxins (AFB1, AFB2, AFG1 and AFG2) α-zearalenol (α-ZEL), β-zearalenol (β-ZEL), zearalanone (ZAN), and zearalenone (ZEN) Diacetoxyscirpenol (DAS) HT-2 toxin and T-2 toxin 3-acetyl deoxynivalenol (3-ADON), 15-acetyl deoxynivalenol (15-ADON), and deoxynivalenol (DON) Nivalenol (NIV) Fumonisins (FB1, FB2 and FB3) Fusaric acid (FA) Moniliformin (MON) Ochratoxin A (OTA) Beauvericin (BEA) Enniatin A (ENA), enniatin A1 (ENA1), enniatin B (ENB), and Enniatin B1 (ENB1).
The results of the level of mycotoxin contamination for each sample type are shown as follows.
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MYCOTOXINS IN WHEAT In 2023, 95% of the wheat samples from Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, and Hungary were contaminated with more than one mycotoxin. 4% of the samples did not contain any mycotoxin, whereas 1% of the samples were contaminated with one mycotoxin (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Number of mycotoxins per sample detected in wheat samples harvested in Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, and Hungary in 2023. 4
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Not detected 1 Mycotoxin 95
>1 Mycotoxin
Table 1 shows that Fusarium-related mycotoxins were the most predominant in 2023 harvested wheat samples from Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, and Hungary.
DON, with an average of 1322 ppb, was detected in 66% samples.
Among emerging mycotoxins: FA was detected in 61% of the samples. ENNB, ENN B1, ENNA1, and ENN A were detected in 95%, 88%, 78%, and 48% of the samples, respectively. BEA was detected in 61% of the samples. MON was detected in 9% of the samples.
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Table 1. Mycotoxin contamination levels (ppb) in wheat samples from Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, and Hungary harvested in 2023. Average (ppb)
Maximum (ppb)
Minimum (ppb)
Number of positives (%)
MON
9
27
4
9
DON
1322
20801
39
66
FA
146
2515
6
61
3-ADON
60
197
20
10
15-ADON
174
1038
20
34
DAS
5
8
3
4
HT-2 toxin
38
89
11
12
FB1
40
44
36
3
T-2 toxin
53
262
11
13
ZEN
119
415
16
14
ENN B
335
4493
1
95
ENN B1
76
699
1
88
BEA
57
963
1
61
ENN A1
37
364
1
78
ENN A
18
115
1
48
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MYCOTOXINS IN BARLEY In 2023, only 2% of the barley samples from Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, and Hungary were not contaminated with any mycotoxin whereas 98% of the samples were found to contain more than one mycotoxin (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Number of mycotoxins per sample detected in barley samples harvested in Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, and Hungary in 2023. 2
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Not detected 1 Mycotoxin 98
>1 Mycotoxin
Table 2 shows that Fusarium-related mycotoxins were the most predominant in the 2023 harvested barley samples.
DON, with an average of 845 ppb, was detected in 54% samples, FB1 in 4% and T-2 toxin in 24% of the barley samples.
Among emerging mycotoxins: FA was detected in 34% of the samples. BEA was detected in 75% of the samples. ENNs were detected in almost all the samples.
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Table 2. Mycotoxin contamination levels (ppb) in barley samples from Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, and Hungary harvested in 2023. Average (ppb)
Maximum (ppb)
Minimum (ppb)
Number of positives (%)
MON
4
4
3
2
DON
845
18029
21
54
FA
76
699
6
34
3-ADON
80
317
22
10
15-ADON
136
1493
21
29
FB1
333
1016
27
4
T-2 toxin
49
440
10
24
FB3
41
54
29
2
ZEN
1026
13031
19
15
FB2
137
179
95
2
ENN B
360
4272
1
98
ENN B1
105
609
1
93
BEA
18
315
1
75
ENN A1
44
354
1
88
ENN A
17
122
1
60
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CONCLUSIONS In 2023, the wheat harvested in Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, and Hungary was contaminated with more than one mycotoxin. DON and emerging mycotoxins FA, MON, BEA and ENNs were the predominant mycotoxins detected in wheat samples.
In 2023, 98% of the barley samples from Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, and Hungary were contaminated with more than one mycotoxin.
DON and emerging mycotoxins such as FA, MON, BEA and ENNs were the predominant mycotoxins detected in most of the barley samples.
The co-occurrence of more than one mycotoxin can lead to additive or synergistic effects when fed to sensitive animal species (swine and poultry, amongst others).
This suggests that technologies are required for the control of mixtures of such contaminants in feedstuffs predominantly based on wheat and barley to minimize their impact on animal development.
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