Mycotoxins in flours derived from wheat and soybean detected by the Elisa test

Abstract

The objective of this work was to evaluate the presence of mycotoxins in flours derived from wheat caryopses and soybean seed exposed to Fusarium graminearum infection and detected by the Elisa test. Contamination was evaluated during 2010 and 2012, in greenhouse conditions, by artificial inoculation, and on field‑production batches exposed to natural infections. Twenty‑six samples of flours derived from wheat caryopses and soybean seeds were used. Detection of the mycotoxins deoxynivalenol and zearalenone was performed by an Elisa kit. In wheat flour of different environments both mycotoxins – deoxynivalenol and zearalenone – were detected, while in soybean flour only zearalenone was detected. Mycotoxins concentrations observed in these flours are inappropriate for human and animal consumption. Elisa kit constituted an effective biotechnological tool for the detection of prevailing contamination by zearalenone, caused by F. graminearum in wheat and soybean flours of different, semicontrolled and natural environments.