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

Edibles are the only source of nutrients and energy for humans. However, ingredients of edibles have undergone many physicochemical changes during preparation and storage. Aging, hydrolysis, oxidation, and rancidity are some of the major changes that not only change the native flavor, texture, and taste of food but also destroy the nutritive value and jeopardize public health. The major reasons for the production of harmful metabolites, chemicals, and toxins are poor processing, inappropriate storage, and microbial spoilage, which are lethal to consumers. In addition, the emergence of new pollutants has intensified the need for advanced and rapid food analysis techniques to detect such toxins. The issue with the detection of toxins in food samples is the nonvolatile nature and absence of detectable chromophores; hence, normal conventional techniques need additional derivatization. Mass spectrometry (MS) offers high sensitivity, selectivity, and capability to handle complex mixtures, making it an ideal analytical technique for the identification and quantification of food toxins. Recent technological advancements, such as high-resolution MS and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS), have significantly improved sensitivity, enabling the detection of food toxins at ultralow levels. Moreover, the emergence of ambient ionization techniques has facilitated rapid in situ analysis of samples with lower time and resources. Despite numerous advantages, the widespread adoption of MS in routine food safety monitoring faces certain challenges such as instrument cost, complexity, data analysis, and standardization of methods. Nevertheless, the continuous advancements in MS-technology and its integration with complementary techniques hold promising prospects for revolutionizing food safety monitoring. This review discusses the application of MS in detecting various food toxins including mycotoxins, marine biotoxins, and plant-derived toxins. It also explores the implementation of untargeted approaches, such as metabolomics and proteomics, for the discovery of novel and emerging food toxins, enhancing our understanding of potential hazards in the food supply chain.

• MeSH
• analýza potravin MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mořské toxiny MeSH
• mykotoxiny * MeSH
• referenční standardy MeSH
• tandemová hmotnostní spektrometrie * metody   MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• přehledy MeSH
• Názvy látek
• mořské toxiny MeSH
• mykotoxiny * MeSH

Zearalenone (ZEN) is a non-steroidal mycoestrogen produced by the Fusarium genus. ZEN and its metabolites compete with 17-beta estradiol for cytosolic estrogen receptors, causing reproductive alterations in vertebrates. ZEN has also been associated with toxic and genotoxic effects, as well as an increased risk for endometrial adenocarcinomas or hyperplasia, breast cancer, and oxidative damage, although the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Previous studies have monitored cellular processes through levels of transcripts associated with Phase I Xenobiotic Metabolism (Cyp6g1 and Cyp6a2), oxidative stress (hsp60 and hsp70), apoptosis (hid, grim, and reaper), and DNA damage genes (Dmp53). In this study, we evaluated the survival and genotoxicity of ZEN, as well as its effects on emergence rate and fecundity in Drosophila melanogaster. Additionally, we determined levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) using the D. melanogaster flare and Oregon R(R)-flare strains, which differ in levels of Cyp450 gene expression. Our results showed that ZEN toxicity did not increase mortality by more than 30%. We tested three ZEN concentrations (100, 200, and 400 μM) and found that none of the concentrations were genotoxic but were cytotoxic. Taking into account that it has previously been demonstrated that ZEN administration increased hsp60 expression levels and apoptosis gene transcripts in both strains, the data agree with an increase in ROS and development and fecundity alterations. Since Drosophila lacks homologous genes for mammalian estrogen receptors alpha and beta, the effects of this mycotoxin can be explained by a mechanism different from estrogenic activity.

• Klíčová slova
• Drosophila melanogaster, cytochromes P450, oxidative stress, wing spot test, zearalenone,
• MeSH
• Drosophila melanogaster genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• fertilita MeSH
• oxidační stres MeSH
• poškození DNA MeSH
• reaktivní formy kyslíku metabolismus   MeSH
• savci metabolismus   MeSH
• zearalenon * metabolismus   MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Názvy látek
• reaktivní formy kyslíku MeSH
• zearalenon * MeSH

The present interlaboratory comparison study involved nine laboratories located throughout the world that tested for 24 regulated and non-regulated mycotoxins by applying their in-house LC-MS/MS multi-toxin method to 10 individual lots of 4 matrix commodities, including complex chicken and swine feed, soy and corn gluten. In total, more than 6000 data points were collected and analyzed statistically by calculating a consensus value in combination with a target standard deviation following a modified Horwitz equation. The performance of each participant was evaluated by a z-score assessment with a satisfying range of ±2, leading to an overall success rate of 70% for all tested compounds. Equal performance for both regulated and emerging mycotoxins indicates that participating routine laboratories have successfully expanded their analytical portfolio in view of potentially new regulations. In addition, the study design proved to be fit for the purpose of providing future certified reference materials, which surpass current analyte matrix combinations and exceed the typical scope of the regulatory framework.

• Klíčová slova
• certified reference material, complex feed, internal standard, method harmonization, z-score,
• MeSH
• chromatografie kapalinová metody   MeSH
• gluteny MeSH
• kukuřice setá chemie   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mykotoxiny * analýza   MeSH
• prasata MeSH
• tandemová hmotnostní spektrometrie metody   MeSH
• vysokoúčinná kapalinová chromatografie metody   MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• srovnávací studie MeSH
• Názvy látek
• gluteny MeSH
• mykotoxiny * MeSH

Cereals represent a widely consumed food commodity that might be contaminated by mycotoxins, resulting not only in potential consumer health risks upon dietary exposure but also significant financial losses due to contaminated batch disposal. Thus, continuous improvement of the performance characteristics of methods to enable an effective monitoring of such contaminants in food supply is highly needed. In this study, an ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to a hybrid quadrupole orbitrap mass analyzer (UHPLC-q-Orbitrap MS) method was optimized and validated in wheat, maize and rye flour matrices. Nineteen analytes were monitored, including both regulated mycotoxins, e.g., ochratoxin A (OTA) or deoxynivalenol (DON), and non-regulated mycotoxins, such as ergot alkaloids (EAs), which are analytes that are expected to be regulated soon in the EU. Low limits of quantification (LOQ) at the part per trillion level were achieved as well as wide linear ranges (four orders of magnitude) and recovery rates within the 68-104% range. Overall, the developed method attained fit-for-purpose results and it highlights the applicability of high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) detection in mycotoxin food analysis.

• Klíčová slova
• cereal, ergot alkaloids, high-resolution mass spectrometry, mycotoxins, ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography,
• MeSH
• hmotnostní spektrometrie přístrojové vybavení   metody   MeSH
• jedlá semena chemie   MeSH
• kukuřice setá chemie   MeSH
• mouka analýza   MeSH
• mykotoxiny analýza   MeSH
• pšenice chemie   MeSH
• vysokoúčinná kapalinová chromatografie přístrojové vybavení   metody   MeSH
• žito chemie   MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• validační studie MeSH
• Názvy látek
• mykotoxiny MeSH