Table1_Three-year multi-mycotoxin analysis of South African commercial maize from three provinces.xlsx

IntroductionThe Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) reported that numerous diseases can be traced back to the consumption of unsafe food contaminated with mycotoxins. Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by toxigenic filamentous fungi. Mycotoxins reported to be of socio-economic concerns include aflatoxins, fumonisins, zearalenone, ochratoxin A, and deoxynivalenol. These mycotoxins are frequent contaminants of maize especially in the face of climate change and global food insecurity. South Africa is a leading exporter of maize in Africa, hence, it is crucial to evaluate exposure risks with respect to mycotoxin contamination of maize for consumers’ safety.
Materials and methodIn total, 752 post-harvest maize samples collected from silos over a 3-year period were analysed using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) for the occurrence of mycotoxins.
Results and discussionThe overall mean values for all the quantified mycotoxins were within the South Africa regulatory limit as well as the individual samples, apart from DON and FB mycotoxins with 5% and 1% samples, respectively, above the limit. Citrinin was quantified in South African commercial maize for the first time. The presence of major mycotoxins in South African commercial maize even within safety limits is of public health concern, hence, continuous monitoring and evaluation is recommended.

引言 联合国粮食及农业组织（Food and Agricultural Organization, FAO）指出，诸多疾病可归因于食用了被真菌毒素（mycotoxins）污染的不安全食品。真菌毒素是产毒丝状真菌产生的次级代谢产物。具有社会经济关注度的常见真菌毒素包括黄曲霉毒素、伏马菌素（fumonisins）、玉米赤霉烯酮（zearalenone）、赭曲霉毒素A（ochratoxin A）以及脱氧雪腐镰刀菌烯醇（deoxynivalenol）。在气候变化与全球粮食不安全的背景下，这类真菌毒素常污染玉米作物。南非是非洲主要的玉米出口国，因此为保障消费者安全，评估玉米被真菌毒素污染后的暴露风险至关重要。
材料与方法 本研究共采集了3年间从粮仓中获取的752份收获后玉米样本，采用液相色谱-串联质谱法（liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry, LC-MS/MS）对其中真菌毒素的存在情况进行分析检测。
结果与讨论 所有定量检测的真菌毒素的总体均值以及单个样本含量均符合南非监管限值要求，仅脱氧雪腐镰刀菌烯醇（DON）和伏马菌素（FB）类毒素分别有5%和1%的样本超出限值。本研究首次在南非商业玉米中检测到橘霉素（citrinin）。即便处于安全限值范围内，南非商业玉米中仍存在主要真菌毒素，这一情况已引发公众健康层面的担忧，因此建议开展持续的监测与评估工作。