Journal
FOOD ADDITIVES & CONTAMINANTS PART B-SURVEILLANCE
Volume 10, Issue 1, Pages 21-26Publisher
TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
DOI: 10.1080/19393210.2016.1240245
Keywords
Aflatoxins; Aspergillus flavus; Aspergillus parasiticus; groundnuts; beans; bambara nuts; cowpeas
Funding
- International Development Research Centre - Canada
- Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research
- Australian International Food Security Research Centre [107838]
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Aflatoxins, mainly produced by Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus, are highly toxic and may lead to health problems such as liver cancer. Exposure to aflatoxins may result from ingestion of contaminated foods. Levels of AFB(1), AFB(2), AFG(1) and AFG(2) in samples of groundnuts (Arachis hypogaea), beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata) and bambara nuts (Vigna subterranean) grown by smallholder farmers in Shamva and Makoni districts, Zimbabwe, were determined at harvesting, using high performance liquid chromatography after immunoaffinity clean-up. Aflatoxins were detected in 12.5% of groundnut samples with concentrations ranging up to 175.9 mu g/kg. Aflatoxins were present in 4.3% of the cowpea samples with concentrations ranging from 1.4 to 103.4 mu g/kg. Due to alarming levels of aflatoxins detected in legumes versus maximum permissible levels, there is a need to assist smallholder farmers to develop harvest control strategies to reduce contamination of aflatoxins in legumes.
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