Natural Occurrence of Aflatoxins, Zearalenone and Trichothecenes in Maize Grown in Pakistan

A total of 65 maize grain samples , from 7 maize producing areas of Pakistan, were assayed for 14 toxicologically significant mycotoxins viz., aflatoxin B1 (AfB1), aflatoxin B2 (AfB2), aflatoxin G1 (AfG1), aflatoxin G2 (AfG2), zearalenone (ZON), deoxynivalenol (DON), 3acetyl-deoxynivalenol (3A-DON), 15acetyl-deoxynivalenol (15A-DON), nivalenol (NIV), T-2 toxin (T-2), HT-2 toxin (HT-2), diacetoxyscirpenol (DAS), neosolaniol (NEOS) and fusarenone-x (Fus-x). Quantification was made by using high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC). The frequently encountered mycotoxin was AfB1 – 27.69 % (n=18, range: 5-850 μg kg; mean: 192 μg kg). Other mainly detected mycotoxins include AfB2 (18.46 %), NIV (12.31 %), DON (9.23 %), and 3ac-DON (7.69 %) with average values of 40, 1326, 1549, and 356 μg kg respectively. DAS, T-2 and HT-2 were detected in only 9.23 %, 6.15% and 6.15% of samples respectively with relatively low concentrations. A co-occurrence phenomenon was observed in 12 (18.46 %) samples with a combination of two or maximum three different mycotoxins. It is a first preliminary study report dealing with 14 important mycotoxins simultaneously in maize from main maize growing areas of Pakistan.