Comprehensive analysis of neonicotinoids in Chinese commercial honey and pollen: A corresponding health risk assessment for non-targeted organisms.

Neonicotinoids are broad-spectrum and highly effective insecticides that work by affecting neural activity in insects. Neonicotinoids are systemic pesticides that are absorbed by plants, transported, and accumulated in plant tissues, including nectar and pollen. Currently, there is a lack of a comprehensive assessment of the level of neonicotinoid contamination and the associated health risks to non-targeted organisms in commercial honey and pollen produced in China. This study collected 160 batches of honey and 26 batches of pollen from different regions and plant sources in China, analyzed the residue patterns of neonicotinoid pesticides, and comprehensively evaluated the exposure risks to non-targeted organisms including bees (adults and larvae) and humans. Furthermore, this study addresses this imperative by establishing a high-throughput, rapid, and ultra-sensitive indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ic-ELISA) based on broad-spectrum monoclonal antibodies to detect and quantify neonicotinoids, with validation conducted using the LC-MS/MS method. The findings indicated that 59.4 % of honey samples contained at least one of eight neonicotinoids, and the ic-ELISA rapid detection and calculation method could detect all the samples containing neonicotinoids. Additionally, the dietary risk assessment for humans and honeybees indicates that the consumption of a specific quantity of honey may not pose a health risk to human due to neonicotinoid intake. However, the Risk Quotient values for imidacloprid to adult bees and bee larvae, as well as clothianidin to bee larvae, were determined to be 2.22, 5.03, and 1.01, respectively-each exceeding 1. This highlights the elevated risk of acute toxicity posed by imidacloprid and clothianidin residues to honey bees. The study bears significant implications for the safety evaluation of non-targeted organisms in the natural food chain. Moreover, it provides scientific guidance for protecting the diversity and health of the ecosystem.

Insights into the intestinal toxicity of foodborne mycotoxins through gut microbiota: A comprehensive review.

Mycotoxins, which are fungal metabolites, pose a significant global food safety concern by extensively contaminating food and feed, thereby seriously threatening public health and economic development. Many foodborne mycotoxins exhibit potent intestinal toxicity. However, the mechanisms underlying mycotoxin-induced intestinal toxicity are diverse and complex, and effective prevention or treatment methods for this condition have not yet been established in clinical and animal husbandry practices. In recent years, there has been increasing attention to the role of gut microbiota in the occurrence and development of intestinal diseases. Hence, this review aims to provide a comprehensive summary of the intestinal toxicity mechanisms of six common foodborne mycotoxins. It also explores novel toxicity mechanisms through the "key gut microbiota-key metabolites-key targets" axis, utilizing multiomics and precision toxicology studies with a specific focus on gut microbiota. Additionally, we examine the potential beneficial effects of probiotic supplementation on mycotoxin-induced toxicity based on initial gut microbiota-mediated mycotoxicity. This review offers a systematic description of how mycotoxins impact gut microbiota, metabolites, and genes or proteins, providing valuable insights for subsequent toxicity studies of mycotoxins. Furthermore, it lays a theoretical foundation for preventing and treating intestinal toxicity caused by mycotoxins and advancing food safety practices.

Strata temperatures and geothermal resource evaluation in the Dongpu Depression, Bohai Bay Basin, North China.

The development of geothermal resources in the Dongpu Depression can improve not only the economic benefits of the oilfield but also the ecological environment. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the geothermal resources in the region. Based on the heat flow, geothermal gradient and thermal properties, the temperatures and their distribution in different strata are calculated using geothermal methods, and the geothermal resource types of the Dongpu Depression are identified. The results show that the geothermal resources include low-temperature, medium-temperature and high-temperature geothermal resources in the Dongpu Depression. The Minghuazhen and Guantao Formations mainly include low-temperature and medium-temperature geothermal resources; the Dongying and Shahejie Formations include low-temperature, medium-temperature and high-temperature geothermal resources; the Ordovician rocks mainly include medium-temperature and high-temperature geothermal resources. The Minghuazhen, Guantao and Dongying Formations can form good geothermal reservoirs and are favorable layers for exploring low-temperature and medium-temperature geothermal resources. The geothermal reservoir of the Shahejie Formation is relatively poor, and the thermal reservoirs may be developed in the western slope zone and the central uplift. The Ordovician carbonate strata can provide thermal reservoirs for geothermal resources, and the Cenozoic bottom temperature is more than 150 °C except for most of the western gentle slope zone. In addition, for the same stratum, the geothermal temperatures in the southern Dongpu Depression are higher than those in the northern depression.

Structure-toxicity relationships, toxicity mechanisms and health risk assessment of food-borne modified deoxynivalenol and zearalenone: A comprehensive review.

Mycotoxin, as one of the most common pollutants in foodstuffs, poses great threat to food security and human health. Specifically, deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZEN)-two mycotoxin contaminants with considerable toxicity widely existing in food products-have aroused broad public concerns. Adding to this picture, modified forms of DON and ZEN, have emerged as another potential environmental and health threat, owing to their higher re-transformation rate into parent mycotoxins inducing accumulation of mycotoxin in humans and animals. Given this, a better understanding of the toxicity of modified mycotoxins is urgently needed. Moreover, the lack of toxicity data means a proper risk assessment of modified mycotoxins remains challenging. To better evaluate the toxicity of modified DON and ZEN, we have reviewed the relationship between their structures and toxicities. The toxicity mechanisms behind modified DON and ZEN have also been discussed; briefly, these involve acute, subacute, chronic, and combined toxicities. In addition, this review also addresses the global occurrence of modified DON and ZEN, and summarizes novel methods-including in silico analysis and implementation of relative potency factors-for risk assessment of modified DON and ZEN. Finally, the health risk assessment of modified DON and ZEN has also been discussed comprehensively.

[Health risk assessment of exogenous harmful pollutants in Chinese medicine: a review].

In recent years, the quality and safety problems have been limiting the internationalization of Chinese medicine. The pollutants in Chinese medicine, particularly the exogenous harmful pollutants mainly including mycotoxins, pesticide residues, heavy metals, harmful elements, and sulfur dioxide, are of high risks for people. Therefore, the World Health Organization(WHO) and relevant national organizations have clearly defined the maximum residue limits(MRLs) of such pollutants. Chinese Pharmacopoeia(2020 edition, volume Ⅳ) also demonstrates the detection methods, MRLs and preliminary risk assessment methods for four typical exogenous harmful pollutants in Chinese medicine. Therefore, continuous optimization of the health risk assessment system can further help further raise the quality and safety of Chinese medicine. This paper reviews the research on the health risk assessment of four typical exogenous harmful pollutants in Chinese medicine and discusses the problems of and challenges for the assessment system, which is expected to lay a scientific basis for the establishment of the risk warning mode and response measures suitable for specific types of Chinese medicine.

Colloidal gold-based lateral flow immunoassay with inline cleanup for rapid on-site screening of carbendazim in functional foods.

In this study, for the first time, we propose a sensitive colloidal gold-based lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) that can be used to detect carbendazim residues in functional foods. The adoption of inline cleanup LFIA strips effectively improved background interference to reduce misjudgment of results. First, the hapten 2-(methylamino)-1H-benzo[d]imidazole-5-carboxylic acid was used to establish the carbendazim immunoassay method. Subsequently, colloidal gold-mAb preparation and LFIA detection conditions were systematically optimized. For root and fruit samples (ginseng, ginger, jujube, and Chinese wolfberry), the designed strips had a cutoff value of 8 ng/mL. For flower and seed samples (chrysanthemum, coix seed, and malt), the cutoff value was 12 ng/mL. Even in a complex matrix, the established LFIA method demonstrates satisfactory sensitivity and anti-interference ability. This method was successfully applied in detection of carbendazim residues in complex functional foods, and the assay results are consistent with those obtained via liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. In short, the proposed method is fast and sensitive and has strong anti-interference ability. Furthermore, it provides a new technical method highly relevant to the on-site rapid detection of carbendazim residues in complex sample matrix.

Development of a sensitive indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for high-throughput detection and risk assessment of aflatoxin B1 in animal-derived medicines.

Animal-derived medicine is an important part of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Studies have shown that many animal-derived medicinal products are susceptible to contaminate of aflatoxins, nevertheless, the rapid detection for animal-derived medicine is prone to be ignored. Here we developed a sensitive indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (icELISA) for rapid screening of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in ground beetle, cockroach, silkworm and earthworm. The sensitivity of the icELISA method was significantly enhanced. The IC50 for the four animal-derived medicinal samples ranged from 0.092 to 0.135 ng mL-1; the limit of detection (LOD) was 0.008-0.020 ng mL-1. To obtain high accuracy, the extraction solution and time were evaluated. By using this method, a total of 138 samples were investigated, and the detection rates of AFB1 in ground beetle and earthworm samples were 26.6% and 16.7%, respectively. The result was validated by liquid chromatography combined with tandem mass spectrometry, and an excellent correlation was observed between the two datasets, with a R2 value of 0.999. Our results indicate that the proposed method can be used for the rapid detection of AFB1 in animal-derived medicine. Furthermore, the quantitative risk assessment was conducted for ground beetle and earthworm based on the results, demonstrating that the intake of AFB1 in ground beetle had a slight threat to the risk of cancer.

Assessment of the Microbiome and Potential Aflatoxin Associated With the Medicinal Herb Platycladus orientalis.

Platycladi Semen, which is derived from the dried ripe seed of Platycladus orientalis, has been used for the treatment of insomnia and constipation in China for 2000 years. However, it is susceptible to fungal and aflatoxin contamination under proper humidity and temperature during storage. Although aflatoxin contamination in Platycladi Semen has been reported preliminarily, few studies have been conducted on fungal infection and aflatoxin contamination simultaneously. Thus, this work aims to provide an in-depth understanding of fungal contamination in Platycladi Semen, and information on aflatoxin contamination. We focused on a comparison of the difference in fungal diversity between aflatoxin-contaminated and aflatoxin-free Platycladi Semen samples. First, aflatoxin levels in 11 Platycladi Semen samples, which were collected from local herbal markets in Shandong, Anhui, and Hebei provinces throughout China, were determined by IAC-HPLC-FLD, and positive confirmation of detected samples was performed by LC-MS/MS. The samples were divided into two groups, based on production or non-production of aflatoxin. We then used the Illumina MiSeq PE250 platform, and targeted the internal transcribed spacer two sequences to analyze the diversity and composition of the fungal microbiome, as well as to assess the presence of potential mycotoxin-producing fungi. Results showed that five samples were contaminated with aflatoxins, one of which exceeded the legal limits of Chinese Pharmacopeia Commission (2015). At the phylum level, the Ascomycota was the most dominant in all tested samples, with a relative abundance of 83.04-99.46%. Aspergillus (27.88-97.28%), Xerochrysium (0-28.49%), and Xeromyces (0-22.24%) were the three predominant genera. Furthermore, differences in fungal composition between the aflatoxin-contaminated and aflatoxin-free groups, as well as between different provinces were observed. A total of 74 species were identified, and four potential mycotoxin-producing fungi were detected in all samples, namely Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus, Fusarium poae, and Penicillium steckii. In conclusion, we report the great diversity of fungi associated with Platycladi Semen, highlight the risk to consumers of ingesting potent aflatoxin, and provide a reference for the safe application and quality improvement of Platycladi Semen.

Comprehensive assessment for the residual characteristics and degradation kinetics of pesticides in Panax notoginseng and planting soil.

Incorrect and excess usage of pesticides during crop cultivation poses a serious threat to human health and ecosystems. In this study, we tested for the presence of 201 pesticide residues in 90 batches of Panax notoginseng (P. notoginseng) and 10 batches of planting soil. Pesticide residue characteristics and the relationship between pesticides present in P. notoginseng and the soil were discussed. Twenty-nine pesticides were detected in P. notoginseng samples and 15 pesticides were found in the soil samples. In P. notoginseng samples, the 68.9% of the identified pesticides were fungicides, and six fungicides (procymidone, iprodione, pyrimethanil, propiconazole, dimethomorph and tebuconazole) were found in >90% of the samples. Nine insecticides were found, with one insecticide, chlorpyrifos, detected in 93.3% of the P. notoginseng samples. The residual concentrations of 17 pesticides were found at levels exceeded the "non-Chinese" maximum residue levels (MRLs) for Ginseng and 17 pesticides were found at levels exceeding the MRLs set by China for "pollution-free" P. notoginseng. We observed no significant differences in pesticide residues were found on P. notoginseng from different cultivation areas. We also analyzed the degradation kinetics of pesticides in the soil, as well as their bioconcentration factors (BCFs), and found that the fungicides iprodione and myclobutanil displayed strong uptake from the soil to the root of P. notoginseng. Together, our data suggest that fungicides should be considered as key monitoring substances in P. notoginseng and planting soil.

[Safety evaluation of heavy metals contaminated Astragalus membranaceus using health risk assessment model].

To evaluate the safety of heavy metals contaminated Astragalus membranaceus,an appropriate protocol was established to study the heavy metals pollution level by health risk assessment. This study provided a detailed procedure to assess the medicinal herbs in quality control and safety evaluation,and expected to create awareness among the public on the safety of consuming of A. membranaceus or any other kinds of medicinal herbs. The heavy metals content of Cu,As,Cd,Pb and Hg in a total of 45 batches of A. membranaceus were carefully analyzed with a developed inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry( ICP-MS). Besides,the heavy metal contamination level was further evaluated through 4 main assessment parameters,including maximum residue limit( MRL) set by International Standard Organization,estimated daily intake( EDI) set by IUPAC,target hazard quotients( THQ) and Total THQ set by USEPA and total THQs in raw herbs of A. membranaceus. In addition,the recommended MRLs of 5 main heavy metals aimed to A. membranaceus were calculated based on the regulated consumption quantity. The result showed that,under the ISO international standard of Chinese medicine-Chinese herbal medicine heavy metals,the unqualified rate was 8. 89% for A. membranaceus,which including 4 batches of A. membranaceus exceeded the MRL of As. Here,the standard THQ value of A. membranaceus was firstly proposed as 0. 02 and 0. 011 25 for adults and children,respectively,which were calculated with the recommended consumption quantity of 30 g and 9 g for adults and children. Furthermore,the values of THQ for As and total THQs in adults and children were exceeded the standard THQ in A. membranaceus,and the recommended MRLs of Pb,Cd,Hg and Cu in above medicinal materials that calculated based on health risk assessment model were higher than the regulated MRLs that set by ISO and Chinese Pharmacopeia. The research showed that the contents of heavy metals in A. membranaceus were not in the safe range and the certain non-carcinogenic risks to human body cannot be neglected. Based on above investigation result,it is easily known that the common evaluation method for raw herbs based on the comparison of MRL of heavy metals was not precise enough,and the international model of health risk assessment should be built for each medicinal herb. Above all,this study provided a more realistic research approach for safety evaluation of any other kinds of heavy metals contaminated medicinal herbs,including the establishment of heavy metals standard limit in a specified medicinal herb under recommended consumption quantity,and it is expected to create awareness among the public on the safety of consuming any other medicinal herbs.

[Establishment of health risk assessment model for assessing medicinal and edible plants contaminated by heavy metals--take Astragali Radix,Codonopsis Radix and Laminariae Thallus as examples].

With the improvement of living standard,the theory of " medicine and food homology" has developed rapidly in the field of diet,medicine and health preservation. In recent years,many literatures have been reported on the active ingredients and pharmacological effects of medicinal and edible plants,but relatively few reports have been reported on their safety investigation. Therefore,to further evaluate the quality and safety of medicinal and edible plants,Astragali Radix,Codonopsis Radix and Laminariae Thallus were selected as our research objects in this study. Moreover,the pollution level and the potential health risk of heavy metals were deeply assessed in different types of medicinal and edible plants. Especially,the contents of chromium,copper,arsenic,cadmium,mercury and lead in these three herbs were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry( ICP-MS),and their health risk level was evaluated by target hazard coefficient method. The results showed that under the international heavy metal limit standard( ISO 18664-2015,GB 2762-2017),the over-standard rates were 25%,77% and 100% in 16 batches of Astragali Radix,26 batches of Codonopsis Radix and 9 batches of Laminariae Thallus,respectively. Besides,the values of target hazard quotients( THQ) for adults and children are 0. 028 244,0. 063 505 and 0. 014 485,0. 032 568 in Astragalus membranaceus and Codonopsis pilosula,respectively,which were higher than the standard values of 0. 02 and 0. 011 25. While,the total heavy metals THQ values for adults and children are 0. 023 734 and 0. 020 287 in Laminariae Thallus,which were much higher than the standard values of 0. 008 0 and 0. 007 5. However,the CR values of As,Cd and Pb in the three herbs were lower than 1×10~(-6). Above results indicated that those six harmful elements have certain health hazards to the exposed population,but there is no potential carcinogenic effect. It can be seen that,there were still presence of the pollution of harmful elements,and it is necessary to establish the reasonable limit standards and quality control methods of medicinal and edible plants in time.

[Pollution level and health risk assessment of heavy metals and hazardous elements in Bombyx Batryticatus].

In order to comprehensively analyze the pollution level and bioaccessibility of different types of heavy metals and hazardous elements in animal medicine,this paper selected Bombyx Batryticatus as the research object,and used inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry( ICP-MS) to detect As,Cu,Hg,Pb,Ni,Cr,Zn and Cd. Based on the artificial gastrointestinal digestion model and the health risk assessment model of Chinese medicinal materials,the pollution level,in vivo and in vitro transfer rate and health risk grade of eight harmful elements in the above-mentioned medicinal materials of Bombyx Batryticatus were obtained respectively. The test result was found that under the ISO international standard of Chinese medicine-Chinese herbal medicine heavy metals,the unqualified rate was 50% for Bombyx Batryticatus,which including 2 batches of As and 4 batches of Cr exceeded the MRL. In artificial gastrointestinal digestion solution,the transfer rates of heavy metals As,Cu,Hg,Pb,Ni,Cr,Zn and Cd were 36. 849%,72. 372%,41. 152%,75. 354%,46. 603%,27. 981%,19. 707% and 76. 282%,respectively. The data of risk assessment model showed that the total THQ values of the most polluted batches for adults and children was 0. 021 548 and 0. 018 418,respectively. After digestion,the THQ values decreased to 0. 012 599 for adults and 0. 010 769 for children,which were still higher than the THQ standard values of animal medicine Bombyx Batryticatus. However,the CR value of carcinogenic risk is less than 1×10-6,so the potential non-carcinogenic risk caused by taking this batch of Bombyx Batryticatus medicines is higher and the carcinogenic risk can be ignored. To sum up,heavy metals and hazardous elements in Bombyx Batryticatus still exceed the standard,but the health risk level caused by heavy metals still needs to be investigated according to different medicinal materials,in order to provide data support for further improving the quality and safety of animal medicine.

[Safety evaluation of heavy metals contaminated Xiaochaihu Tang using health risk assessment model].

In order to further improve the quality and safety evaluation standards of traditional Chinese medicine compound preparation,Xiaochaihu Tang compound preparations were selected to analyze the pollution level of heavy metals deeply,and the potential health risks were evaluated under taking such kind of compound preparations. In this study,the contents of copper( Cu),arsenic( As),cadmium( Cd),mercury( Hg),and lead( Pb) in different Xiaochaihu Tang compound preparations were determinated by the method of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry( ICP-MS). Moreover,combined with target hazard coefficient method and in vitro artificial system,the bioaccessibility and health risk level was investigated in three main consumption ways including powder,decoction and granule. The result was showed that,under the maximum residual limit set by International Standard Organization,only one batch of raw herb was eight times exceeded the Hg MRL,however,in water decoctions and granules,the heavy metal residue rate was reduced to 2. 02%( Hg in granules)-42. 85%( Cd in granules). So,the heavy metal pollutions and health risks can be reduced to safe region in spite of the serious pollution in raw herbs. Besides,the THQ and CR values of the three consumption methods were lower than the standard values of non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks of each heavy metal. It can be seen that even if the heavy metals in the raw herbs exceed the standard,the use of Xiaochaihu Tang decoction and granules can reduce the harm of heavy metals to the human body. Above all,the establishment of this health risk assessment model can be provided experimental basis and reference value for improving the safety evaluation standard of other heavy metals contained traditional Chinese medicine( TCM) compound preparations,and further improving the quality control methods of other different toxic compounds in clinical use.

[Analysis and health risk assessment of aflatoxin B_1 residue in Ziziphi Spinosae Semen].

This study aimed to analyze the residues of aflatoxin B_1( AFB_1) in Ziziphi Spinosae Semen from different producing areas and to assess the health risk of aflatoxin B_1 residue based on the obtained data. A total of 72 samples of Ziziphi Spinosae Semen from different areas were detected by IAC-HPLC-FLD. Based on the data of AFB_1 pollution,a probabilistic assessment model with Monte Carlo simulation was developed. Then,the risk assessment of AFB_1 exposure by Ziziphi Spinosae Semen intake was carried out by MOE( margin of exposure). The results showed that 32 out of 72 of samples( 44. 4%) were found to be contaminated with AFB_1,and the average and maximum concentration of AFB_1 in samples was 5. 42 µg·kg~(-1) and 55. 09 µg·kg~(-1),respectively. After health risk assessment,the average and 97. 5%( 90% confidence interval) exposure level of daily exposure of AFB_1 by Ziziphi Spinosae Semen intake were 0. 008 6( 0. 008 1-0. 009 2) and 0. 057 3( 0. 053 2-0. 061 4) µg·kg~(-1)·d~(-1),respectively. The results showed common use of Ziziphi Spinosae Semen had low level of risk associated with AFB_1. However,the high consumption of Ziziphi Spinosae Semen showed a higher risk than common intake,requiring attention. This study laid a foundation for clinical safe prescription of Ziziphi Spinosae Semen.

[Estimation of bioaccessibility and risk assessment of heavy metals in decoction pieces of Bupleuri Radix].

This project was launched to study on the overall residual status of heavy metals of comprehensive understanding in decoction pieces of Bupleuri Radix (DPBR) from different habitats and risk assessment. In this study, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry was used to determine the heavy metals of 30 batches of Bupleuri Radix in different producing areas. Simulated gastrointestinal fluid method was used to determine the dissolution rate of heavy metals in the simulated gastrointestinal fluid and the average daily intake Average Daily Dose (ADD) and Hazard Quotient (HQ) index were used to assess the risk of heavy metals in DPBR. The results showed that the contents of copper (Cu), lead (Pb), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), and mercury (Hg) in the 30 batches of DPBR didn't exceed the limit of Chinese Pharmacopeia, however, the chromium (Cr) in DPBR exeeded the limit set by NSF in USA and the limit for herbal ingredients in Canada. The mean bioaccessible heavy metal concentrations decreased from Cu (5.27 mg·kg⁻¹)>Cr (4.67 mg·kg⁻¹)>As (0.18 mg·kg⁻¹)>Pb (0.12 mg·kg⁻¹)>Cd (0.06 mg·kg⁻¹), and Hg was not detected in this test. In addition, cumulative non-carcinogenic health risks (HI) for adults and children were 0.799 and 0.714, respectively. Both HI values in adults and children for combined trace element and heavy metal element exposures were below the value of 1 (HI<1), indicating very low carcinogenic health risk. Heavy metals toxicity in herbal medicines and its health risk to humans would be overestimated when assessed only by the total concentrations without considering the bioaccessibility. Therefore, bioaccessibility has great significance for evaluating the human health risks induced by heavy metals.

Assessment of critical points and development of a practical strategy to extend the applicable scope of immunoaffinity column cleanup for aflatoxin detection in medicinal herbs.

Although extraction methods based on immunoaffinity column (IAC) cleanup have been used to detect aflatoxins in medicinal herbs, they do not yield satisfactory results for all sample matrices. The difficulty arises from the chemical complexity of the herbs, and there is a pressing need to determine which steps in IAC cleanup limit the scope of aflatoxin detection in many different kinds of medicinal herbs. In this work, we found that there were two main factors that severely decreased antibody-antigen recognition and led to serious nonspecific adsorption: (1) high extract acidity and (2) high co-extraction of interfering compounds. We therefore carried out a systematic study to optimize extraction efficiency. We found that dilution of samples in 0.1M phosphate buffer solution (pH 7.8, 2% Tween-20) at a 1:8 dilution ratio mitigated the effect of high acidity, decreased co-precipitation of compounds and nonspecific adsorption, and ameliorated the matrix effect. To validate this finding, and test if our method is widely applicable to in different kinds of herbal materials, we analyzed several representative complex sample matrices including fructus, cortex, and radix with varying extract pH values. The recovery efficiency was generally higher than 70%. We further validated our method by testing a certified reference material, and found that our approach accurately quantified aflatoxin concentration. After validation, we successfully used this method to determine the aflatoxin concentration of real samples. The approach described here could potentially be used to extract aflatoxin from other complex matrices with varying acidity.

Occurrence of toxigenic fungi and determination of mycotoxins by HPLC-FLD in functional foods and spices in China markets.

Twenty-four samples including 14 functional foods and 10 spices obtained from Chinese markets were examined for their mould profile. The mycotoxin contamination levels were also determined by an optimized HPLC-FLD method. 124 fungal isolates belonging to four different genera were recovered with Aspergillus and Penicillium as predominant fungi, with an incidence of 66.1% and 15.3%, respectively. In functional foods Aspergillus niger section (57.1%) was isolated more frequently, followed by Aspergillus flavi section (50.0%) and Aspergillus ochraceus section (21.4%), with the most contaminated samples being Coix seeds. Similar fungal presence and frequency were encountered in spice with A. niger section group (60.0%) and A. flavi section (40.0%) as main fungi. Cumin and Pricklyash peel samples showed the highest fungal contamination. Four functional foods and three spices were found to be positive at low levels for mycotoxins including aflatoxin B1 (up to 0.26µg/kg) and ochratoxin A (OTA) (5.0µg/kg). The more frequently detected mycotoxin was AFB1 (16.7%).

Natural occurrence of ochratoxin A in wolfberry fruit wine marketed in China.

Wolfberry fruit wine (WFW) is widely used as a global functional food to improve the immune system and prevent human disease. A total of 36 bottled WFWs were randomly collected in China between 2005 and 2010. Samples were analysed for the presence of ochratoxin A (OTA) using immunoaffinity column (IAC) clean-up and high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (HPLC-FLD). Positive results were confirmed by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionisation-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS). The limit of detection (LOD), based on a signal-to-noise ratio of 3, was 0.05 ng mL⁻¹. Recoveries ranged from 78.3% to 94.7% and relative standard deviations from 1.1% to 4.3% within the spiking range of 0.2-20 ng mL⁻¹. OTA was detected in one sample, below the maximum allowable limit as established by the European community.