Investigation of the Mycotoxin Contamination in Enzyme Foods by Using Multi-mycotoxin Analysis with HPLC-MS/MS

Introduction: Mycotoxins are natural toxic contaminants produced by toxigenic fungi and they show a wide range of adverse effects including carcinogenic and immunosuppressive effects. Enzyme foods are processed products which are produced by fermentation of plant materials with edible microorganisms for the purpose of enzyme enrichment. Most of the enzyme foods and the pseudo-enzyme foods consist of cereals, which is vulnerable to mycotoxin contamination.

Purpose: The base data for safety evaluation on mycotoxins in enzyme foods and pseudo-enzyme foods is needed. The purpose of this study was to investigate the level of mycotoxin contamination in the products.

Methods: The samples were 50 enzyme food products and 53 pseudo-enzyme food products marketed in Korea. They were loaded on a Myco 6in1™ immuno-affinity column for extraction and purification. For mycotoxin analysis, we optimized a simultaneous analysis method using HPLC-MS/MS.

Results: The number of samples contaminated with deoxynivalenol (LOD = 0.020 ppm) and zearalenone (LOD = 20 ppb) were 40 (0.021~0.541 ppm) and 11 (22~98 ppb), respectively. Four samples were contaminated with aflatoxin B₁ (3.4~3.9 ppb; LOD = 0.3 ppb) and ochratoxin A were also detected in 4 samples (0.4~1.2 ppb; LOD = 0.3 ppb). Two samples were contaminated with fumonisins (0.04, 0.05 ppm; LOD = 0.025 ppm).

Significance: The contamination level of mycotoxins in the samples of enzyme food and pseudo-enzyme food did not exceed the regulation level of Korea. However considering the harmful effects of mycotoxins to human even at a low levels, it is essential to consistently monitor the mycotoxin levels in the products.