Determination of mycotoxins in pomegranate fruits and juices using a QuEChERS-based method

A rapid and accurate analytical method for the determination of three Alternaria mycotoxins (alternariol, alternariol monomethyl ether, and tentoxin) in pomegranate samples (fruits and juices) was developed and validated. The overall average recoveries ranged for 82.0-109.4% and the relative standard deviations were from 1.2% to 10.9%. The optimized and validated method was applied to detect the presence of the target mycotoxins in real samples (fruits and juices) purchased from Greek markets. Mycotoxins were not found in any of the analyzed samples. Also, artificially inoculated pomegranate fruits with six different Alternaria alternata species complex isolates, known to produce the target mycotoxins on pure cultures, were analyzed and alternariol concentrations found ranged from 0.3 to 50.5 μg/g, alternariol monomethyl ether from 0.5 to 32.3 μg/g, while tentoxin was not detected. The developed analytical method can be used for the routine monitoring of the major Alternaria mycotoxins in pomegranates.