title: Alternaria toxins alternariol and alternariol monomethyl ether in grain foods in Canada.
abstract: Alternaria alternata has been reported to be the most common fungus on Canadian Western wheat. The Alternaria toxins alternariol (AOH) and alternariol monomethyl ether (AME) are mutagenic in vitro and there is also limited evidence for carcinogenic properties. They have been found in wheat from Europe, Argentina, China and Australia, but they have not been looked for in Canadian grains or grain foods. In the present study, 83 samples of grain-based food sold in Canada, including flour, bran, breakfast cereals, infant cereals and bread, were analysed for AOH and AME using extraction with methanol, clean-up on combined aminopropyl/C18 solid phase extraction (SPE) columns, and liquid chromatography (LC) with tandem mass spectrometric (MS/MS) determination. The overall average recoveries of AOH and AME from a variety of spiked cereal foods (n = 13) were 45 ± 9% and 53 ± 9%, which could be attributed mainly to MS matrix effects The instrumental limits of detection (LOD) were 0.34 ng/g and 0.13 ng/g for AOH and AME, respectively, and the instrumental limits of quantitation (LOQ) were 1.1 and 0.43 ng/g. Of 83 samples analysed, 70 were positive for AOH (up to 63 ng/g, in a soft wheat bran) and 64 contained AME (up to 12 ng/g in a bran-based breakfast cereal). Of particular interest was the presence of AOH and/or AME in 27 out of 30 infant foods (up to 4.4 ng/g and 9.0 ng/g, respectively, in a sample of multigrain cereal).
authors.affiliation: Health Canada, Food Research Division, 251 Sir Frederick Banting Driveway, Ottawa, ON K1A 0K9 Canada. Peter_Scott@hc-sc.gc.ca
authors.forename: Peter M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Scott
authors.forename: Wendy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Sherry
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: Benjamin P-Y
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Lau
mesh_terms: D000528:Alternaria / Q000737:chemistry; D002170:Canada; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D002523:Edible Grain / Q000737:chemistry*; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007225:Infant Food / Q000032:analysis*; D007783:Lactones / Q000032:analysis*; D057230:Limit of Detection; D000432:Methanol; D052616:Solid Phase Extraction; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry
chemical_list: D007783:Lactones; C005197:alternariol; D000432:Methanol; C018206:alternariol monomethyl ether