Identifying Challenges and Risks Associated with the Analysis of Major Mycotoxins in Feed and Botanicals

Changing weather conditions have heightened the risk of growth of mycotoxigenic molds on crops and various agricultural commodities. Mycotoxins, which are linked to carcinogenic and nephrotoxic effects in animals and humans, have been traditionally analyzed by immunoassays, gas, and LC techniques with spectrophotometric detectors. This review discusses the current techniques and challenges in commercial settings associated with the analysis of mycotoxins in unique matrices such as animal feeds, herbal products, and dietary supplements containing botanicals. Because of the advantages and growing acceptance of LC-tandem MS (MS/MS) over traditional approaches, discussion is mainly based on LC-MS/MS-based approaches. Considering the impact of sample preparation on accuracy of quantitative results, discussion about pros and cons of recently introduced sample preparation techniques is integrated with analytical methods. A section of the review explains the importance and availability of reference materials for mycotoxins. The present discussion provides good insight into the current challenges and developments during mycotoxin analysis of feed and botanicals and addresses the need for researchers in terms of an official MS-based method.