title: Determination of Exposure to the Alternaria Mycotoxin Tenuazonic Acid and Its Isomer allo-Tenuazonic Acid in a German Population by Stable Isotope Dilution HPLC-MS(3).
abstract: The content of the Alternaria toxin tenuazonic acid and its isomer allo-tenuazonic acid was quantitated in urine of a German cohort (n = 48) using a newly developed and successfully validated solid phase extraction based stable isotope dilution HPLC-MS(3) method. Tenuazonic acid was detected in all of the samples and quantifiable in 97.9% of these samples in a range of 0.16-44.4 ng/mL (average = 6.58 ng/mL) or 0.07-63.8 ng/mg creatinine (average = 8.13 ng/mg creatinine). allo-Tenuazonic acid was for the first time detected in human urine (95.8% of the samples positive) and quantitated in 68.8% of the samples in a range of 0.11-5.72 ng/mL (average = 1.25 ng/mL) or 0.08-10.1 ng/mg creatinine (average = 1.52 ng/mg creatinine), representing 3.40-25.0% of the sum of both isomers (average = 12.4%). Food-frequency questionnaires were used to document food consumption of study participants to correlate mycotoxin exposure to nutritional habits. Although no statistically significant correlation between consumption of a specific food and urinary excretion of tenuazonic acid could be determined, a trend regarding elevated intake of cereal products and higher excretion of tenuazonic acid was evident. On the basis of these results, a provisional mean daily intake (PDI) for both tenuazonic acid and allo-tenuazonic acid was calculated, being 0.183 and 0.025 μg/kg body weight, respectively. A combined mean PDI for both isomers amounts to 0.208 μg/kg body weight with the highest individual PDI for one of the participants (1.582 μg/kg body weight) slightly exceeding the threshold of toxicological concern assumed for tenuazonic acid by the European Food Safety Authority of 1.500 μg/kg body weight. This is the first study to investigate the tenuazonic acid content in human urine of a larger sample cohort enabling the calculation of PDIs for tenuazonic acid and allo-tenuazonic acid.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Food Chemistry, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster , Corrensstraße 45, 48149 Münster, Germany.
authors.forename: Yannick
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hövelmann
authors.affiliation: Institute of Food Chemistry, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster , Corrensstraße 45, 48149 Münster, Germany.|NRW Graduate School of Chemistry , Wilhelm-Klemm-Straße 10, 48149 Münster, Germany.
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hickert
authors.affiliation: Institute of Food Chemistry, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster , Corrensstraße 45, 48149 Münster, Germany.
authors.forename: Benedikt
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cramer
authors.affiliation: Institute of Food Chemistry, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster , Corrensstraße 45, 48149 Münster, Germany.|NRW Graduate School of Chemistry , Wilhelm-Klemm-Straße 10, 48149 Münster, Germany.
authors.forename: Hans-Ulrich
authors.initials: HU
authors.lastname: Humpf
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000528:Alternaria / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D002247:Carbon Isotopes / Q000032:analysis; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid / Q000379:methods*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D002523:Edible Grain / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D007201:Indicator Dilution Techniques; D007536:Isomerism; D008297:Male; D009183:Mycotoxins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000652:urine; D052616:Solid Phase Extraction; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D013720:Tenuazonic Acid / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000652:urine; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D009183:Mycotoxins; D013720:Tenuazonic Acid
keywords: Alternaria; HPLC-MS/MS; MRM3; exposure assessment; liquid chromatography; mass spectrometry; mycotoxin; stable isotope dilution assay