Thermal Stability of Fumonisin B1 (FB1) in Maizebased Food Commodities | Chapter 2 | Research and Development in Agricultural Sciences Vol. 3

 

Fumonisin B1 (FB1) is a mycotoxin from Fusarium verticillioides that is frequently associated with
maize. Fumonisins have been implicated as the causal agents of a variety of animal diseases and are
epidemiologically linked to the high incidence of human oesophageal cancer in some regions of the
world. Thermal treatments are used in many processes involving grain and its derivatives, but little is
known about the effects of common processing methods on the fumonisin content of food. The
objectives of this study were to determine the thermostability of this toxin in contaminated maize, at
different time/temperature combinations, as well as to determine the effect of baking and frying on the
stability of FB1 spiked into maize-based foods. The identity of FB1 in extracts before and after heat
treatments was confirmed by high-performance liquid chromatography. For each thermal process, the
fumonisin content was inversely proportional to the processing temperatures. An initial FB1
concentration of 217 mg/g in the control, was reduced to 184 mg/g when treated at 100°C for 2 h.
Oven temperature of 220°C for 30 minutes showed extensive reduction of FB1 to a concentration of
1.1 mg/g compared to 94 mg/g in the control. Baking maize muffins spiked with 1.25 μg/g (dry weight)
FB1 at 200°C for 20 minutes resulted in an average FB1 loss of 70%. Frying of maize chips spiked
with 5 μg/g (dry weight) FB1 at 190-210°C for 5-10 minutes resulted in an average FB1 loss of 67%.
The results of this study indicate that boiling temperatures are ineffective in producing any significant
reduction in FB1 levels. Thus there might be a correlation between the under processing of fumonisincontaminated foods and the high incidence of oesophageal cancer in certain regions of South Africa.

Author (s) Details

R. Mohanlall
Department of Biotechnology and Food Technology, Faculty of Applied Science, Durban University of Technology, P.O. Box 1334, Durban 4001, South Africa.

Prof. B. Odhav
Department of Biotechnology and Food Technology, Faculty of Applied Science, Durban University of Technology, P.O. Box 1334, Durban 4001, South Africa.

Dr. V. Mohanlall
Department of Biotechnology and Food Technology, Faculty of Applied Science, Durban University of Technology, P.O. Box 1334, Durban 4001, South Africa.

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