Deoxinivalenol: Methods for residue analysis in cereals. Toxicity in farm animals

Abstract

Cereals are the staple food of persons and animals worldwide, hense their production increases every year. Cuba currently imports large quantities of cereals from Europe and America, with an investment of up to 240 million dollars in 2012. Often, cereals may be contaminated with mycotoxins, including deoxynivalenol (DON). This can damage animal health, reduce food consumption and gain weight, and alter the immune system, among other adverse effects, forcing countries to implement policies to monitor waste and contaminants to ensure the safety of the foods produced, exported and imported. For this purpose, they apply maximum permissible limits (MPL), established by international organizations that vary depending on the type of cereal, destination and the regulatory entity itself.  However, in recent years, there have been numerous reports of grain contamination by DON and its conjugates, with concentrations of 4374.4 and 2990 μgkg^-1 in maize and 2352 μgg^-1in feed, in countries such as China, Switzerland and South Africa, respectively. In Cuba, concentrations over 1000 µgkg^-1 have been detected in grains like wheat. For the quantification of this mycotoxin there are several analytical methods. Among the most used are the High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and its coupling to Mass Spectrometry (HPLC/MS). This review is aimed at providing information on the methodologies applied in the analysis of DON in cereals and the toxicity caused by this mycotoxin in farm animals. It is expressed as a general conclusion that this trichothecene affects health, reflected in the decrease of productive indexes; and has several analytical methodologies that allow its determination and the regulations established by the MPL to protect animal health.

Keywords: deoxynivalenol, residues, toxicity, analytical methods, cereals, farm animals.