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A SURVEY OF OCHRATOXIN A IN WHEAT AND BARLEY IN INDIA
Author(s) -
VISWANATH PREMA,
KAVITHA S.,
AYESHA FARHANA,
APPAIAH K.M.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of food safety
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.427
H-Index - 43
eISSN - 1745-4565
pISSN - 0149-6085
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-4565.2007.00057.x
Subject(s) - ochratoxin a , penicillium , mycotoxin , aspergillus , biology , aspergillus niger , food science , ochratoxins , ochratoxin , veterinary medicine , botany , medicine
Ochratoxin A (OTA), a secondary metabolite produced by the species of Aspergillus and Penicillium has been found to be nephrotoxic, immunosuppressive and teratogenic in many species and is a possible human carcinogen. Its prevalence in cereals, namely wheat and barley, has been reported from many European countries. In this study, 126 samples of wheat and barley collected from different regions in India were analyzed by high‐performance liquid chromatography for the presence of OTA. The highest OTA content determined in one sample of wheat was 2.3 µg/kg. None of the 126 samples of wheat and barley contained more than 5 µg/kg. Wheat (82.6%) and barley (90%) samples contained less than 0.1 µg/kg, which is the limit of quantification of OTA in this study. The maximum limit of OTA for wheat, barley and rye that is being debated at Codex Alimentarius Commission meetings is 5 µg/kg. In an attempt to determine if there was any correlation between the ochratoxigenic mold mycoflora and the ochratoxin content in the samples analyzed, enumeration of the molds that belonged to Aspergillus and Penicillium species was determined using general mycological media. The aflatoxigenic and ochratoxigenic mycoflora was also enumerated using selective agar media. It was observed that more aflatoxigenic molds were recovered in both wheat and barley samples. None of the species of Penicillium detected from the samples was found to be ochratoxigenic. However, Aspergillus species belonging to section Nigri, Aspergillus niger group, also an ochratoxin producer, were recovered from the samples.