Natural Occurrence of Alternaria Toxins in the 2015 Wheat from Anhui Province, China

Abstract

The exposure to <i>Alternaria</i> toxins from grain and grain-based products has been reported to be related to human esophageal cancer in China. In this study, a total of 370 freshly harvested wheat kernel samples collected from Anhui province of China in 2015 were analyzed for the four <i>Alternaria</i> toxins tenuazonic acid (TeA), tentoxin (TEN), alternariol (AOH) and alternariol monomethyl ether (AME) by high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method (HPLC-MS/MS). TeA was the predominant toxin detected followed by TEN, AOH and AME. The concentrations of the four <i>Alternaria</i> toxins varied geographically. The samples from Fuyang district showed higher TEN concentration levels than the other regions studied (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Furthermore, 95% (352/370) of the wheat samples were positive for more than one type of <i>Alternaria</i> toxins. Positive correlation was observed between concentration levels of TeA and TEN, AOH and AME, TeA and AOH, and the total dibenzopyrone derivatives (AOH + AME) and TeA. Results indicate that there is a need to set the tolerance limit for <i>Alternaria</i> toxins in China, and more data on the contamination of these toxins in agro-products is required.