Deoxynivalenol oligoglycosides: new "masked" fusarium toxins occurring in malt, beer, and breadstuff

The co-occurrence of deoxynivalenol-3-glucoside with its parent toxin, deoxynivalenol, has been recently documented in many cereal-based foods, especially in those produced by enzyme-catalyzed processes. The presence of this masked mycotoxin in the human diet has become an issue of health concern, mainly because of its assumed bioavailability. A selective immunoaffinity-based preconcentration strategy, followed by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution orbitrap mass spectrometry, revealed that, in addition to the most common deoxynivalenol-3-glucoside, also oligoglycosylated deoxynivalenols with up to four bound hexose units were present in cereal-based products. The structure, origination, and fate of these deoxynivalenol conjugates during malt/beer production and bread baking have been thoroughly investigated. Special attention has been paid to the changes of deoxynivalenol conjugates enabled by industrial glycosidase-based enzymatic preparations. To the authors' best knowledge, this is the first study documenting the complexity of masked deoxynivalenol issue.     

Effects of milling and baking technologies on levels of deoxynivalenol and its masked form deoxynivalenol-3-glucoside

The co-occurrence of the major Fusarium mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) and its conjugate deoxynivalenol-3-glucoside (DON-3-Glc) has been documented in infected wheat. This study reports on the fate of this masked DON within milling and baking technologies for the first time and compares its levels with those of the free parent toxin. The fractionation of DON-3-Glc and DON in milling fractions was similar, tested white flours contained only approximately 60% of their content in unprocessed wheat grains. No substantial changes of both target analytes occurred during the dough preparation process, i.e. kneading, fermentation, and proofing. However, when bakery improvers enzymes mixtures were employed as a dough ingredient, a distinct increase up to 145% of conjugated DON-3-Glc occurred in fermented dough. Some decrease of both DON-3-Glc and DON (10 and 13%, respectively, compared to fermented dough) took place during baking. Thermal degradation products of DON, namely norDON A, B, C, D, and DON-lactone were detected in roasted wheat samples and baked bread samples by means of UPLC-Orbitrap MS. Moreover, thermal degradation products derived from DON-3-Glc were detected and tentatively identified in heat-treated contaminated wheat and bread based on accurate mass measurement performed under the ultrahigh mass resolving power. These products, originating from DON-3-Glc through de-epoxidation and other structural changes in the seskviterpene cycle, were named norDON-3-Glc A, B, C, D, and DON-3-Glc-lactone analogically to DON degradation products. Most of these compounds were located in the crust of experimental breads.     

Deoxynivalenol, deoxynivalenol-3-glucoside, and enniatins: the major mycotoxins found in cereal-based products on the Czech market

Fusarium toxins, Alternaria toxins, and ergot alkaloids represent common groups of mycotoxins that can be found in cereals grown under temperate climatic conditions. Because most of them are chemically and thermally stable, these toxic fungal secondary metabolites might be transferred from grains into the final products. To get information on the commensurate contamination of various cereal-based products collected from the Czech retail market in 2010, the occurrence of "traditional" mycotoxins such as groups of A and B trichothecenes and zearalenone, less routinely determined Alternaria toxins (alternariol, alternariol monomethyl ether and altenuene), ergot alkaloids (ergosine, ergocryptine, ergocristine, and ergocornine) and "emerging" mycotoxins (enniatins A, A1, B, and B1 and beauvericin) were monitored. In a total 116 samples derived from white flour and mixed flour, breakfast cereals, snacks, and flour, only trichothecenes A and B and enniatins were found. Deoxynivalenol was detected in 75% of samples with concentrations ranging from 13 to 594 μg/kg, but its masked form, deoxynivalenol-3-β-d-glucoside, has an even higher incidence of 80% of samples, and concentrations ranging between 5 and 72 μg/kg were detected. Nivalenol was found only in three samples at levels of 30 μg/kg. For enniatins, all of the samples investigated were contaminated with at least one of four target enniatins. Enniatin A was detected in 97% of samples (concentration range of 20-2532 μg/kg) followed by enniatin B with an incidence in 91% of the samples (concentration range of 13-941 μg/kg) and enniatin B1 with an incidence of 80% in the samples tested (concentration range of 8-785 μg/kg). Enniatin A1 was found only in 44% of samples at levels ranging between 8 and 851 μg/kg.     

Authentication of animal fats using direct analysis in real time (DART) ionization-mass spectrometry and chemometric tools

A combination of direct analysis in real time (DART) ionization coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOFMS) and chemometrics was used for animal fat (lard and beef tallow) authentication. This novel instrumentation was employed for rapid profiling of triacylglycerols (TAGs) and polar compounds present in fat samples and their mixtures. Additionally, fat isolated from pork, beef, and pork/beef admixtures was analyzed. Mass spectral records were processed by principal component analysis (PCA) and stepwise linear discriminant analysis (LDA). DART-TOFMS profiles of TAGs were found to be more suitable for the purpose of discrimination among the examined fat types as compared to profiles of polar compounds. The LDA model developed using TAG data enabled not only reliable classification of samples representing neat fats but also detection of admixed lard and tallow at adulteration levels of 5 and 10% (w/w), respectively. The presented approach was also successfully applied to minced meat prepared from pork and beef with comparable fat content. Using the DART-TOFMS TAG profiles of fat isolated from meat mixtures, detection of 10% pork added to beef and vice versa was possible.     

Variability in S-Alk(en)yl-l-Cysteine Sulfoxides in Garlic within a Seven-Month Period Determined by a Liquid Chromatography – Tandem Mass Spectrometry Method

Plant Foods for Human Nutrition - The composition of garlic (Allium sativum L.) may vary among cultivars and, moreover, change over time, thereby affecting both biological activity and flavour....