Mycotoxins have been widely studied by many research groups but further multidisciplinary research is needed to better understand and clarify many issues. This study describes the use of high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with ion trap mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) to measure T-2 toxin and its metabolites, such as HT-2 toxin, neosolaniol (NEO) and diacetoxyscirpenol (DAS), as well as masked glucosylated mycotoxins in Fusarium-infected Czech spring barley. In total, 152 spring barley samples from the 2018 harvest were analyzed by the ELISA screening method for the presence of T-2 toxin. The most contaminated samples (15), which exceeded the recommended maximum level set by the EU for the sum of T-2 and HT-2 toxin in unprocessed cereals (200 μg/kg), were analyzed by HPLC-MS/MS and microbiological testing. Isolated fungi were evaluated microscopically and identified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays. The prevalence of Fusarium species in spring barley across the Czech Republic in 2018 showed a predominance of F. poae (12 barley samples) and F. tricinctum (9 barley samples). Other strains (F. sporotrichioides and F. langsethiae) were present at a lower frequency, in 1 and 2 samples, respectively. The average concentration of T-2 plus HT-2 toxin was 107.7 μg/kg, while NEO and DAS were found in a few samples at values close to their limit of quantification. HT-2 glucoside was identified in all samples.

Department of Analytical Chemistry Faculty of Chemical Technology University of Pardubice Studentská 573 CZ 53210 Pardubice Czech Republic

Department of Biological and Biochemical Sciences Faculty of Chemical Technology University of Pardubice Studentská 573 CZ 53210 Pardubice Czech Republic

Research Institute of Brewing and Malting Malting Institute Mostecká 7 614 00 Brno Czech Republic

References provided by Crossref.org

Mycotoxins in brewing and malting: is every sample contaminated with mycotoxins?

Determination of T-2 and HT-2 Toxins in Seed of Milk Thistle [Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn.] Using Immunoaffinity Column by UPLC-MS/MS