Yesterday masked, today modified; what do mycotoxins bring next?

Area of Science:

• Food Science
• Analytical Chemistry
• Toxicology

Background:

• Mycotoxins are fungal metabolites found globally in crops.
• Metabolism and food processing can create masked mycotoxin forms, evading detection.
• These hidden forms lead to underestimation in risk assessments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the need for analytical methods capable of detecting modified mycotoxins.
• To address the challenge of masked mycotoxins in food safety and risk assessment.
• To introduce advanced mass spectrometry techniques for identifying these compounds.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS).
• Employing advanced mass spectrometers like iontrap, time-of-flight, and orbitrap.
• Developing and applying methods for the detection of masked mycotoxin forms.

Main Results:

• New masked mycotoxin forms have been successfully detected using advanced mass spectrometry.
• Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry proves effective in identifying previously undetected mycotoxin variants.
• The study demonstrates progress in analytical capabilities for modified mycotoxins.

Conclusions:

• Accurate risk assessment requires methods that can detect and quantify modified mycotoxins.
• Advanced mass spectrometry techniques are crucial for identifying masked mycotoxin forms.
• Further research is needed to fully clarify the toxicological relevance of modified mycotoxins.