Detection and qualification of aflatoxin in raw materials, cattle feeds and fresh milk

Abstract

Aflatoxins are the most carcinogenic natural compounds that are produced by Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus. When they are ingested, inhaled or absorbed, aflatoxins have carcinogenic, hepatotoxic, teratogenic and mutagenic effects in animals and humans. The most noticeable characteristics of aflatoxins are tasteless, odourless and colourless. Moreover, they are stable in food and resistant to degradation under normal cooking procedures. Thus, it is difficult to recognize and eliminate aflatoxin once it is produced. Because of such facts, several methods for detection and quantification of aflatoxins have been developed. The research was carried out to survey the occurrences and quantification of aflatoxin in raw materials, cattle feeds and fresh milk in Ho Chi Minh City. In this study, aflatoxins in raw materials and cattle feeds were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), while fresh milk was measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In 20 raw material samples, there was only one contaminated sample (5%) with the exceeding concentration of 169.84 μG.kG-1. In 15 cattle feed samples, there were two contaminated samples (13.33%) exceeded the limit regulation with the aflatoxin concentration of 126 and 265 μG.kG-1. In 46 fresh milk samples, there was only one contaminated sample (2.17%) with 0.62 μG.kG-1 of concentration. The results were used to estimate the contamination of aflatoxins in Ho Chi Minh City in order to control quality of food and feed stuffs and improve food safety. Key words: Aflatoxin, HPLC, ELISA, raw materials, cattle feeds, fresh milk.