Trichothecenes in wheat: Methodology, occurrence and human exposure risk

A QuEChERS extraction purification method for the simultaneous determination of type B trichothecenes deoxynivalenol (DON), 3-acetyl-deoxynivalenol, 15-acetyl-deoxynivalenol (ADONS) and nivalenol (NIV) in wheat grain samples was standardized and validated using quantitation by HPLC-UV. To standard the extraction of mycotoxins, the phase separation and clean-up steps of the method were evaluated. The method was proved to be suitable for the determination of trichothecenes in wheat, and DON was detected in 19 of the 20 samples analyzed, its concentration ranging from 163.48 to 1590.69 μg kg−1. The co-occurrence of DON and ADONS was also observed in nine samples, and one sample showed the co-occurrence of DON and NIV. According to the bioaccessibility study, 79% of DON and 85% of ADONS becomes available for absorption into the body. The ingestion risk of DON and ADONS was 2.0 and 0.39 μg kg−1 of body weight per day by consumption of wheat, respectively.