title: Fetal exposure to aflatoxins in the United Arab Emirates.
abstract: This is a prospective study in which aflatoxin levels were measured in umbilical cord blood from 201 women delivered consecutively in Tawam and Al Ain hospitals in order to determine whether the fetuses had been significantly exposed to the toxin. Aflatoxin B1, M1 and M2 were measured using high performance liquid chromatography. Aflatoxins were detected in 110 (54.7%) samples, 27 of which were positive for B1, 106 for M1 and 31 for M2. There was a significant negative correlation (p < 0.001) between birthweight and levels of aflatoxin. The high rate of detection of aflatoxins confirms that a significant number of infants in the UAE are exposed to these toxins which reflects maternal ingestion of aflatoxin-containing food. The presence of aflatoxin resulted in lower birthweights.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, UAE University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates. yousef@uaeu.ac.ae
authors.forename: Yousef M
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Abdulrazzaq
authors.forename: Nawal
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Osman
authors.forename: Ahmed
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ibrahim
mesh_terms: D000348:Aflatoxins / Q000097:blood*; D001724:Birth Weight; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange; D011247:Pregnancy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014479:United Arab Emirates
chemical_list: D000348:Aflatoxins