Detection of twelve mycotoxins in mixed animal feedstuffs, using a novel membrane cleanup procedure

A multimycotoxin thin layer chromatographic screening method is described which is applicable to most animal feedstuffs. Interference from nonspecific lipid, pigment, and other components of simple and mixed feeds is reduced to a minimum by using a membrane cleanup step. Aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, and G2, citrinin, diacetoxyscirpenol, ochratoxin A, patulin, penitrem A, sterigmatocystin, T-2 toxin, and zearalenone may be reliably detected. The sensitivity of the method is generally low for mixed feeds but even so aflatoxin B1 can be detected at a level of 3 ppb and ochratoxin A at 80 ppb. While the basic method is less sensitive for sterigmatocystin (330 ppb), patulin (600 ppb), zearalenone (1000 ppb), and the trichothecenes (1000-4000 ppb), it may be adapted so as to reduce the above detection limits when the presence of these toxins is suspected. Lower levels may be detected in extracts of simple feeds.