• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.1-16
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• 2004

The purpose of this paper is to review the occurrence, analytical methods and reduction methods of aflatoxins in foods. Aflatoxins are produced by the secondary metabolism of various fungal species and have the highest toxicity among mycotoxins. Due to their toxicity including carcinogenic activity, aflatoxins affect not only the health of humans ana animals but also the economics of agriculture and food. As a food-importing country, because aflatoxins could contaminate raw commodities and foodstuffs, there should be inspection on the exposure and the regulation of risk assessment as a food safety measure. In addition, studies on rapid analytical methods and reduction of toxicity by various processes for aflatoxins should be carried out in conjunction with those of the risk assessment of aflatoxins.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.251-254
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• 1993

Extraction and Clean-up procedures coupled with quantitation by high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) was evaluated for the detection of 4 aflatoxins, B1, B2, G1 and G2, in peanut butter. The Sep-pak clean-up method showed poorer separation and repeatability than did the modified DeVries' and an immunoaffinity column clean-up methods. No significant difference of detected aflatoxins between the affinity column clean-up and modified DeVries' method. The coefficients of variation for the 4 aflatoxins were ranging from 6.3∼32.3 by the modified DeVries' method and 5.3∼9.8 by the affinity column clean-up.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.150-157
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• 2011

Aflatoxins are secondary metabolites of the molds of Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus. They are highly carcinogenic compounds and can affect a wide range of vegetable commodities such as cereals (especially corn), nuts, peanuts, fruits and oil seeds, in the field and during storage. In fact, oilseeds are often stored for weeks in conditions that promote the mould growth, and the possible consequent presence of aflatoxins in oilseeds can lead to their transfer in oil. In addition, aflatoxins can be found as a natural contaminant in multi-cereals and beans making baby food for infants and young-children. The objective of this study was to validate the liquid extraction method or develop an analytical method for edible oil and infant-children foods. Therefore, this study developed condition of extract for aflatoxins ($B_1$, $B_2$, $G_1$ and $G_2$) in edible oil using a high performance liquid chromatography with florescence detector (HPLC/FLD). Aflatoxins were extracted from edible oil samples by means of MSPD (Matrix solid phased dispersion), utilizing $C_{18}$ as dispersing material and purified by using immunoaffinity column. The gression line coefficients were above 0.999. The recoveries for aflatoxins ranged from 85.9 to 93.0%, and relative standard deviations were below 5.7%. The new developed method of aflatoxins effectively enhanced recoveries by using MSPD-Immunoaffinity column compared with liquid extraction. The analytical method for liquid extraction of aflatoxin was appropriate for infant-children food. Reviewing the current method, the recoveries of aflatoxins ($B_1$, $B_2$, $G_1$ and $G_2$) were 89.5~92.3%.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.488-493
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• 2007

A survey for total aflatoxins (aflatoxins $B_1$, $B_2$, $G_1$, and $G_2$) was conducted on 245 cereals and processed cereal products, and 148 nuts and processed nut products in Korea, for a total of 393 commercialized ed samples. The total aflatoxins were quantified by the immunoaffinity column clean-up method with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) - fluorescence detection (FLD), and were confirmed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Total aflatoxins(AFs) were detected in 37 samples (9.4% incidence), including 2 millet samples, 1 mixed cereal (sunsik), 1 powdered malt sample, 2 processed cereal products, 6 peanut samples, 22 peanut butter samples, and 1 sample each of almonds, adlay tea, and a processed nut product. The contamination levels were $0.04-2.65{\mu}g/kg$ for aflatoxin $B_1$, and $0.04-5.51{\mu}g/kg$ for total aflatoxins. Finally, LC-MS/MS analysis of the contaminated samples was conducted to confirm the detected aflatoxins, and all 37 samples showing aflatoxins by HPLC-FLD were confirmed by LC-MS/MS.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.187-192
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• 2017

The consumption of herbal medicines has been increasing with growing interest in health. However, due to recent climate change and the complex distribution process of herbal medicines with high import dependence the likelihood of contamination with mycotoxin has been increased. Mycotoxins are emerging as key indicators for ensuring safety of herbal medicines. A total of 498 herbal medicine samples were screened for mycotoxin contamination in this study. Aflatoxin in the herbal medicine samples was extracted by using immunoaffinity column, then the extracted aflatoxin was quantified via high performance liquid chromatography coupled with fluorescence detection (HPLC-FLD) method. The extraction method was verified by linearity, recovery, LOD and LOQ. Aflatoxins were detected in 39/498 samples in an average of $7.670{\mu}g/kg$ ($0.610-77.452{\mu}g/kg$ range). Although safety standards for Corydalis Tuber is not currently available in korea, five of the 39 samples had high concentration of aflatoxins (average of $14.9{\pm}4.1{\mu}g/kg$). In conclusion, it is urgent to establish safety criteria of aflatoxin in Corydalis Tuber. The results of the current study suggest that continuous monitoring is necessary for proactive management of herbal medicine safety.