Liquid Chromatographic Method for Fumonisins in Corn
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The fumonisins are an economically important group of mycotoxins that occur worldwide in corn and corn-based products. They
are produced by a number of Fusarium
species, of which F. moniliforme
and F. proliferatum
are the most common, as they infect corn crops around the world (1
). Although a number of fumonisins have been identified (2
), the most abundant analogs found in naturally contaminated food and feeds are fumonisin B1
(FB1), B2
(FB2
), and B3
(FB3
) (3
). Analytical determination of these mycotoxins has shown them to be almost universally present in corn and has heightened
concern over the implications that ingestion of these toxins has for animal and human health (3
). Of particular concern, is the reported co-occurrence in corn of fumonisins, which have been shown to have cancer promoting
properties (4
), with the known human carcinogen, aflatoxin (5
–8
). In animals, fumonisins are the causative agents of the fatal syndromes, leukoencephalomalacia in horses (9
) and pulmonary edema and hydrothorax in pigs (10
). They produce nephrotoxicity (11
) and hepatocarcinoma (12
) in rats and are toxic to turkey poults (13
) and broiler chicks (14
). Fumonisins have been shown to cause developmental toxicity, including fetal deaths and fetal resorptions, in hamsters (15
), mice (16
) and rats (17
). However, experimental evidence suggests that for mice and rats, these effects may be mediated by maternal toxicity (16
,17
).
