Occurrence of deoxynivalenol (DON) in wheat flours in Guilan province, northern Iran.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE Deoxynivalenol (DON) is one of several mycotoxins produced by certain Fusarium species that frequently infect wheat, corn, rice, oats, barley and other grains in the field or during storage. Guilan, Golestan and Mazandaran areas are located in the North Iran with favorite conditions for Fusarium growth. DON affects animal and human health causing vomiting, acute temporary nausea, diarrhea, abdominal pain, headache, dizziness, and fever. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this study, a total of 96 wheat flour samples of different types were collected during summer 2013 from six flour mills in Northern Iran. All samples were analyzed for DON by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS DON was detected in 80 out of 96 wheat flour samples (83.33%), at levels ranging from 23 to 1270 µg/kg. The maximum contamination level of DON (1270 μg/kg) was found in whole flour while the minimum value (23 μg/kg) was registered in debranned flour. The mean of contamination was 630.53 µg/kg. CONCLUSIONS According to results obtained, incidence and contamination levels of DON, seem to be a serious problem for public health. Therefore, cereal and cereal based foods should be controlled for the presence of toxins, storage conditions and moisture content, which is considered a major factor in the growth of the Fusarium fungi.