Natural occurrence of mycotoxins in peanut cake from Nigeria

The spectrum of mycotoxins and other fungal metabolites was evaluated by a liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometric (LC/ESI-MS/MS) technique in 29 peanut cake samples collected from markets in five states of Nigeria. A total of 20 fungal metabolites were detected at concentrations up to 7400 μg/kg in case of kojic acid. Metabolites produced by Aspergillus species were the most prevalent toxins. As considers mycotoxins addressed by regulations, aflatoxins exceeded the USDA maximum limit of 20 μg/kg in about 90% samples. Seven fungal metabolites reported in this study have to our knowledge never been found previously to occur in naturally contaminated grains, nuts and oil seeds or their products. Possible health effects of the observed concentrations of fungal metabolites were discussed based on toxicological data from literature.