COMPARATIVE PROFILING OF DIFFERENT ANALYTICAL METHODS FOR FUMONISIN DETECTION IN MAIZE

Abstract

Fumonisin is one of the most important Fusarium mycotoxin which is often associated with maize and maize-based products worldwide. It has been associated with various diseases in humans and animals. Fumonisin contamination was evaluated from forty samples of South Africa commercial maize by thin layer chromatography (TLC), VICAM immunoaffinity column/high performance liquid chromatography (VICAMIAC/HPLC), VICAM immunoaffinity column/fluorometer (VICAMIAC/fluorometer), enzyme linked immuno-sorbent (ELISA) and lateral flow test in comparison to high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Strong anion exchange (SAX) cartridge was used for cleanup of extracts prior to detection by TLC and HPLC while VICAM immunoaffinity column was used for cleanup prior to VICAMIAC/HPLC and VICAMIAC/fluorometer. Result on TLC showed that 45% of the samples were contaminated with fumonisin B1. Result on the other methods showed that 100% of the samples were contaminated with total fumonisins (fumonisin B1 + fumonisin B2 + fumonisin B3). The contamination levels of total fumonisins on HPLC (64 – 1035 ppb), VICAMIAC/HPLC (7 – 803 ppb) and VICAMIAC/fluorometer (177 – 1097 ppb) were significantly (P ≤ 0.05) lower than ELISA (190 – 2450 ppb) and lateral flow test (350 – 2700 ppb). Alternatively, using the linear regression analysis on the results, it was observed that HPLC and lateral flow method showed a close relationship with a regression coefficient of 0.824. Percentage recoveries were 97%, 72%, 91%, 50% and 85% for HPLC, VICAMIAC/HPLC, VICAMIAC/fluorometer, ELISA and lateral flow test, respectively.