Thermal stability of moniliformin at varying temperature, pH, and time in an aqueous environment.

Moniliformin (MON) is a widely occurring mycotoxin, produced mainly by Fusarium proliferatum and Fusarium subglutinans in corn, that has been shown to be acutely toxic for various animal species and is a suspected cause of Keshan disease in China. The effects of temperature (100, 125, and 150 degrees C) and pH (4, 7, and 9) on the stability of MON were determined in aqueous buffer solutions at processing times ranging from 10 to 60 min. The percentage of MON reduction was positively related to increasing temperature and pH.