Mycoflora and Co-Occurrence of Fumonisins and Aflatoxins in Freshly Harvested Corn in Different Regions of Brazil

Abstract

Natural mycoflora and co-occurrence of fumonisins (FB(1), FB(2)) and aflatoxins (AFB(1), AFB(2), AFG(1) and AFG(2)) in freshly harvested corn grain samples from four regions of Brazil were investigated. Fusarium verticillioides was predominant in all samples. Analysis of fumonisins showed that 98% of the samples were contaminated with FB(1) and 74.5% with FB(1) + FB(2), with toxin levels ranging from 0.015 to 9.67 mu g/g for FB(1) and from 0.015 to 3.16 mu g/g for FB(2). Twenty-one (10.5%) samples were contaminated with AFB(1), seven (3.5%) with AFB(2) and only one (0.5%) with AFG(1) and AFG(2). Co-contamination with aflatoxins and fumonisins was observed in 7% of the samples. The highest contamination of fumonisins and aflatoxins was observed in Nova Odessa (SP) and Varzea Grande (MT), respectively. The lowest contamination of these mycotoxins was found in Varzea Grande and Nova Odessa, respectively.