Deoxynivalenol Contamination Analysis

Deoxynivalenol (DON), also known as vomitoxin, is one of the several groups of mycotoxins and formed by certain fungi Fusarium species. It is a polar organic chemical and contains three free hydroxy groups which are associated with its toxicity.

Figure 1. Chemical structure of deoxynivalenol and related contaminated foods

The mycotoxins produced by Fusarium are the largest group of mycotoxins due to the high occurrence of the fungi species and the most common contaminant of grains and their subsequent products. The occurrence of deoxynivalenol in foods and animal feeds represent over 90% of the total number of samples, so it is normally considered as a potential indicator of the occurrence of other mycotoxins. Deoxynivalenol is a natural-occurring mycotoxin mainly synthesized by Fusarium graminearum. The foods that are frequently contaminated by deoxynivalenol are agricultural crops such as wheat, corn, rice, oats, and other grains during harvest and storage. Deoxynivalenol is very stable under high temperature and during storage and cooking process. There have been some studies showing that the level of deoxynivalenol may be reduced with the boiling water. Higher levels of deoxynivalenol were found in animals feeds compared with foods.

Deoxynivalenol can cause serve health impacts to human beings and animals after the consumption including acute gastrointestinal adverse effects such as vomiting, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea due to their high toxicity. It has strong emetic effects after consumption. The danger level of deoxynivalenol may still remain in foods and feeds after basic cooking process. The long-term dietary exposure of foods contaminated by deoxynivalenol can accumulate in human bodies and has adverse effects on the immune system as well as neurotoxic and teratogenic effects.

Different regulation agencies have established the limitation levels for deoxynivalenol in a variety types of human foods and animal feeds. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) specified the advisory levels of deoxynivalenol for wheat products for human consumption as 1 ppm and 5 ppm for grain and grain by-products for animals, respectively. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of United Nations has set the advisory levels of deoxynivalenol in cereal and finished cereal products for human consumption as 1-2 ppm. The levels of deoxynivalenol found in foods and animal feeds are usually in the range of ppm.

The procedure for the analysis of deoxynivalenol in foods and animal feeds includes sample preparation and extraction, purification, and detection/quantification. We have expertise in the sample preparation of a variety types of food matrices. The sample preparation has significant effect on the accuracy of the level measured in the food samples.

We offer accurate and validated analytical platforms for both identification and quantification that have been widely applied in the determination of deoxynivalenol in food and feed samples to meet customers' needs.

Liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC-MS)

LC-MS is a widely used laboratory-based method for the analysis of deoxynivalenol. The method offers high sensitivity and accuracy. It can meet EU method performance criteria for deoxynivalenol analysis.

We also maintain high quality assurance for the analysis. The recovery of internal standard, the use of blanks and spikes is monitored for each batch of analysis.