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- Alternaria (3) (entfernen)
Mycotoxins are toxic secondary metabolites of ubiquitously occurring moulds. Through the consumption of contaminated foods, they can cause acute or chronic intoxications in humans. Here, it is demonstrated how covalent hydrazine chemistry can be used to improve the performance of instrumental methods for the quantification of trace level food mycotoxins. In the case of the Alternaria mycotoxin tenuazonic acid, pre-column derivatisation with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine resolved chromatographic issues due to the chemical properties of the analyte and allowed for its rapid, sensitive and selective quantification in cereals and beer by high performance liquid chromatography- ion-trap two stage mass spectrometry (HPLC-IT-MS2). Tenuazonic acid could be detected for the first time in beer and buckwheat flour. Although the encountered levels were too low to cause acute intoxications, the frequency of contamination indicated possible health risks due to chronic exposure. In a second scenario, dynamic covalent hydrazine chemistry (DCHC) was exploited for a novel extraction and cleanup method applicable to the Fusarium mycotoxin zearalenone occurring in edible oils. Zearalenone was extracted by hydrazone formation on a hydrazinefunctionalised polymer resin and subsequently released hydrolytically for quantification by HPLC-fluorescence detection (HPLC- FLD). The high selectivity of the approach allowed for the omission of MS detection and immunoaffinity cleanup. The DCHC method was superior to previously published methods in terms of handling efforts, cost, precision and selectivity and is well suited for the monitoring of the current European maximum level for zearalenone in refined maize oil. In the second part of the dissertation, possible degradation routes of Alternaria mycotoxins upon storage and bread baking are discussed. In the frame of a kinetic study, it was shown that tenuazonic acid is degraded by two parallel processes, deacetylation and epimerisation, when stored in aqueous solution (half-life at 25 °C ~ 74 days). The primary degradation product deacetyl tenuazonic acid was less stable than its parent compound and degraded rapidly in beverage matrices. In model baking experiments it was furthermore revealed that alternariol, alternariol monomethyl ether and altenuene are stable under typical baking conditions. A newly identified degradation route, which is based on a sequence of hydrolysis and decarboxylation, caused only minor substance losses (< 1 %). Still, the degradation products could be detected in commercial rusk and crispbread by HPLC-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS).
Aims: A laboratory study was conducted to evaluate the influence of cocultivation of toxigenic Fusarium (F.) and Alternaria (A.) fungi with respect to growth and mycotoxin production.
Methods and Results: Fusarium culmorum Fc13, Fusarium graminearum Fg23 and two Alternaria tenuissima isolates (At18 and At220) were simultaneously or consecutively co-incubated on wheat kernels in an in vitro test system. Fungal biomass was quantified by determining ergosterol content. Three Fusarium toxins (DON, NIV and ZON) and three Alternaria toxins (AOH, AME and ALT) were analysed by a newly developed HPLC/MS/MS method. In simultaneous cocultures, the fungal biomass was enhanced up to 460% compared with individual cultures; Alternaria toxins were considerably depressed down to <5%. Combining At18 and At220 with Fg23 inhibited the toxin production of both fungal partners. In contrast, Fc13 increased its DON and ZON production in competitive interaction with both A. strains.
Conclusions: The interfungal competitive effects aid the understanding of the processes of competition of both fungi in natural environments and the involvement of mycotoxins as antifungal factors.
Significance and Impact of Study:
Cocultivation significantly affects fungal growth and mycotoxin production of phytopathogenic Alternaria and Fusarium strains. The impact of mycotoxins on the interfungal competition is highlighted.
The degradation kinetics of the Alternaria mycotoxin tenuazonic acid (l-TA) in aqueous buffer were studied over a period of 4 months at different pH levels (3.5 and 7.0) and temperatures (4, 25 and 40°C). l-TA and its degradation products were quantified by newly developed high-performance liquid chromatography methods with UV or electrospray multistage mass spectrometry detection. At pH 3.5, significant degradation occurred at 25 and 40°C, the respective l-TA half-lives being 73.8±0.4 and 14.0±0.1 days. Two degradation processes, epimerization and hydrolysis, were evaluated kinetically. The hydrolytically formed iso-deacetyl TA (iso-DTA, epimeric mixture) was found to be the stable end product of l-TA degradation under the conditions of this study. This indicates that iso-DTA as well as the l-TA epimer u-TA are formed in aqueous beverage matrices.