Browsing by Author "Syvähuoko, Jenna"

The literature review focused on the chemical properties of Fusarium mycotoxins and their masked forms, analytical methods for their determination and the toxicological and legislative aspects. In the experimental study, a multi-method was developed and validated for the simultaneous quantification of several Fusarium toxins and their masked forms in barley, oats and wheat using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) technique. The simple “dilute-and-shoot” sample preparation procedure was applied, where the extraction was performed with a mixture of acetonitrile, water and acetic acid (79:20:1, v/v/v). Moreover, the aim was to obtain new data on the occurrence of the masked mycotoxins in barley, oats and wheat by analysing 95 cereal grain samples. The type A trichothecenes T-2 and HT-2 toxins (T-2 and HT-2) and the type B trichothecenes deoxynivalenol (DON) and nivalenol (NIV) as well as zearalenone (ZEN), together with 11 masked forms of them, were included based on their importance for the food safety in northern Europe. The analytes were separated on a reversed-phase column and detected in selected reaction monitoring (SRM) mode. Better peak shapes for the early eluting compounds and shorter analysis time were obtained with acetonitrile than methanol as the organic phase, thus it was chosen for the method. The method was validated according to the criteria set in the legislation. The limits of quantification varied from 0.3 to 15.9 ?g/kg. The recoveries were 92?115%, thus being within the tolerable ranges established in the legislation. The inter-day precisions (4?27%) were under the maximum permissible values. Therefore, the method proved to fit for the purpose. In this study, occurrence data on the masked mycotoxins in Finland were obtained for the first time. The presence of ZEN-16-glucoside (ZEN-16-G) and NIV-3-glucoside (NIV-3-G) were reported for the first time worldwide in some of the cereals. The most frequently found toxins were DON, NIV and HT-2. All of the masked mycotoxins included in the method were determined, the most common being DON-3-glucoside (DON-3-G), HT-2-glucoside (HT-2-G) and NIV-3-G.