Inter-laboratory study on simultaneous quantification of ten trichothecenes in feed

Area of Science:

• Food safety and analytical chemistry
• Mycotoxicology
• Agricultural science

Background:

• Mycotoxins, such as trichothecenes, contaminate animal feed, posing risks to animal and human health.
• Accurate quantification of multiple mycotoxins is crucial for risk assessment and regulatory compliance.
• Existing methods may not efficiently cover the range of relevant mycotoxins, including modified forms.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a simultaneous quantification method for ten important mycotoxins in feed.
• To validate the method's performance across multiple laboratories.
• To establish reliable analytical data for feed safety assessments.

Main Methods:

• Simultaneous extraction of mycotoxins using hydrous acetonitrile.
• Purification using a multifunctional column and a phospholipid removal column.
• Quantification via liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization.

Main Results:

• The method showed high mean recovery (99.8-109%) for type A trichothecenes and good recovery (89.9-116%) for type B trichothecenes.
• Repeatability and reproducibility values were generally low, indicating method robustness across laboratories.
• The method demonstrated acceptable performance for deoxynivalenol-3-glucoside (D3G) with recoveries ranging from 78.2-96.7%.

Conclusions:

• The validated LC-MS/MS method is suitable for the simultaneous determination of multiple trichothecene mycotoxins and deoxynivalenol-3-glucoside in feed.
• The inter-laboratory study confirmed the method's reliability and applicability in routine analysis.
• This method contributes to improved feed safety monitoring and mycotoxin risk management.