Fusariotoxins in Wheat Grain in Serbia

Samples of wheat grain (41), collected during the 2010 harvest from seven localities inSerbia, were analysed for the presence of zearalenone (ZEA), T-2 toxin, deoxynivalenol (DON)and fumonisine B1 (FB1). Results of Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) showedthat all analysed samples were positive for the presence of at least one of four observedfusariotoxins. The most distributed mycotoxins were ZEA (90.2%, with the average concentrationof 442.6μg kg–1) and T-2 (90.2%, with the average concentration of 24.2 μg kg–1).DON (73.2%) and FB1 (84.4%) were detected in a somewhat smaller number of samples, buttheir average concentrations were higher (1988.1 μg DON kg–1 and 882.7 μg FB1 kg–1). Theestablished correlations between concentrations of DON and FB1 (r = 0.32) or DON and ZEA(r = 0.22) were not statistically significant. A negative correlation was established betweenconcentrations of T-2 and FB1 (r= -0.24), as well as, between T-2 and DON (r = -0.36). Detectedconcentrations of ZEA and T-2 were bellow the level prescribed by the World Health Organisation(WHO), while concentrations of FB1 and DON detected in five that is, 17 samples,respectively, were above the permissible limit for human consumption