The silymarin complex extracted from milk thistle provides significant health benefits, particularly due to its antioxidant and hepatoprotective properties. However, plant substances can be contaminated by a number of fungi types and their secondary metabolites-mycotoxins. This work deals with the determination of aflatoxins and zearalenone and its metabolites in 39 different samples grown in 2020 and 2021. Analysis of mycotoxins was performed by UHPLC-MS/MS after immunoaffinity column AFLAPREP® and EASI-EXTRACT® ZEARALENONE clean-up. The presence of aflatoxins was not confirmed in the monitored samples, but 1/3 of the samples were contaminated with zearalenone in the range of 2.8-378.9 µg/kg. Metabolites of zearalenone such as α-zearalenol, α-zearalanol, and β-zearalanol were not detected in any of the samples. β-Zearalenol was found in two samples (2.6 µg/kg and 29.8 µg/kg).

• Klíčová slova
• Aflatoxins, Food safety, Milk thistle, UHPLC-MS/MS, Zearalenone,
• MeSH
• aflatoxiny analýza   MeSH
• kontaminace potravin * analýza   zákonodárství a právo   MeSH
• mykotoxiny * analýza   MeSH
• ostropestřec mariánský * chemie   mikrobiologie   MeSH
• tandemová hmotnostní spektrometrie MeSH
• vysokoúčinná kapalinová chromatografie MeSH
• zearalenon analýza   MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Názvy látek
• aflatoxiny MeSH
• mykotoxiny * MeSH
• zearalenon MeSH

Milk thistle [Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn.] achieved a significant increase in interest over the past few years from local and foreign pharmaceutical corporations. The silymarin complex of constituents extracted from milk thistle achenes provides compelling health benefits primarily thanks to antioxidant activities and hepatoprotective effects. However, consuming mycotoxin-contaminated plant material can cause immunosuppression and hepatotoxic problems. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a method for the determination of mycotoxin content in milk thistle. Fusarium toxins as T-2 and HT-2 toxins in grown milk thistle harvested from a breeding station in the Czech Republic during 2020-2021 were studied. The analysis of T-2 and HT-2 toxins was performed by UPLC-MS/MS after immunoaffinity columns EASI-EXTRACT® T-2 & HT-2 clean up. All analysed samples of milk thistle were contaminated with T-2 toxin and HT-2 toxin. The content of T-2 toxin in the samples from 2020 was in the range of 122.7-290.2 µg/kg and HT-2 toxin 157.0-319.0 µg/kg. In 2021, the content of T-2 toxin was in the range of 28.8-69.9 µg/kg and HT-2 toxin was 24.2-75.4 µg/kg. The results show that the climatic conditions of the year of harvesting have a highly statistically significant effect on the content of T-2 and HT-2 toxins in milk thistle.

• Klíčová slova
• HT-2 toxin, T-2 toxin, UPLC-MS/MS, immunoaffinity column, milk thistle, validation method,
• MeSH
• antioxidancia MeSH
• biologické přípravky * MeSH
• chromatografie kapalinová MeSH
• flavonoidy MeSH
• mykotoxiny * MeSH
• ostropestřec mariánský MeSH
• semena rostlinná MeSH
• silymarin * MeSH
• šlechtění rostlin MeSH
• T-2 toxin * analogy a deriváty   MeSH
• tandemová hmotnostní spektrometrie MeSH
• vysokoúčinná kapalinová chromatografie metody   MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Názvy látek
• antioxidancia MeSH
• biologické přípravky * MeSH
• flavonoidy MeSH
• HT-2 toxin MeSH Prohlížeč
• mykotoxiny * MeSH
• silymarin * MeSH
• T-2 toxin * MeSH