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Title: FUMONISINS IN HIGHLAND AND LOWLAND MAIZE IN GUATEMALA AND A PRELIMINARY EXPOSURE ESTIMATE

Author
item Riley, Ronald
item TORRES, OLGA - INST NUTRITION, GUATEMALA
item PALENCIA, EDWIN - INST NUTRITION, GUATEMALA
item DE PRATDESABA, L. LOPEZ - INST NUTRITION, GUATEMALA
item Glenn, Anthony - Tony
item O Donnell, Kerry
item FUENTES, MARIO - INST AG SCIENCE,GUATEMALA

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/26/2005
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Maize samples were collected from the highlands (> 1650 m) and lowlands (< 360 m) of Guatemala in 2000 to 2003. The mean FB1 level (2000 to 2003) in maize from the lowlands (1.2 +/- 0.3 ppm, n=247) was significantly higher than the maize from the highlands (0.26 +/- 0.18 ppm, n = 195). The incidence of FB1 samples greater than or equal to 0.3 ppm FB1 was significantly greater in the lowland maize (131/247) compared to that from the highlands (19/195). The highest concentration in the maize from the highlands was 7.3 ppm, whereas, in the lowland samples 2.4 % of the samples were greater than or equal to 10 ppm with one sample being 21 ppm. Most FB1 positive samples contained FB2 and FB3. Approximately 92% of the samples from the lowlands collected at harvest in 2002 contained detectable levels of FB1, whereas, only 5% of the samples collected at harvest from the highlands contained detectable fumonisins. However, 27% of samples of the 2002 crop collected from storage in the highlands immediately before harvest of the 2003 crop contained greater than or equal to 0.3 ppm FB1 compared to only 2% of the samples collected at harvest in 2002. All (100%) of the Fusarium infected kernels (60/180) analyzed from nine random lowland samples (20 kernels/sample) were infected with F. verticillioides (60/60) and no other Fusarium species, whereas, in samples from the highlands (n=9) only 5% (2/43) of the Fusarium positive kernels (43/180) were F. verticillioides. All the F. verticillioides isolates were able to produce fumonisin in culture. Based on a recall study in women conducted in the Central Highlands, a preliminary assessment of daily intake of total FBs was estimated. Consumption of nixtamalized maize products made from lowland maize could result in exposure exceeding the provisional maximal tolerable daily intake (2 ug total fumonisins/kg bw) with over 50% of the maize samples. This work was supported by USDA Foreign Agricultural Service grant X01-4510-62-751071-4 and a grant from the ILSI NA Technical Committee on Food Toxicology and Safety Assessment