Occurrence of zearalenone on Fusarium graminearum infected wheat and maize fields in crop organs, soil, and drainage water.

The mycotoxin zearalenone (ZON) is a very potent natural endocrine disrupting chemical, produced by Fusarium graminearum fungi growing on crops such as wheat and maize. Although it is well-investigated in food and feed, very little is known about its environmental fate and behavior. Here, we report the occurrence of ZON on F.

Quantification of zearalenone in various solid agroenvironmental samples using D6-zearalenone as the internal standard.

Because of its pronounced estrogenicity, zearalenone may be of concern not only in the aqueous but also in the terrestrial environment. Therefore, we developed several analytical methods to quantify zearalenone in different solid matrices of agroenvironmental relevance (i.e.

Fusarium mycotoxins: overlooked aquatic micropollutants?

Deoxynivalenol and zearalenone are among the most prevalent toxins produced by Fusarium spp. They have been investigated in food and feed products for decades but rarely in the environment. We therefore established solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) methods to quantify these mycotoxins at trace concentrations in aqueous natural samples.

Quantification of six phytoestrogens at the nanogram per liter level in aqueous environmental samples using 13C3-labeled internal standards.

In light of the estrogenic potentials and the recent concentration levels found for six phytoestrogens in surface waters, detailed monitoring and assessment of potential input sources are required. An accurate, precise, and sensitive HPLC-MS/MS analytical method incorporating five (13)C 3-labeled internal standards for the quantification of these plant estrogens in various aqueous environmental samples is presented here for the first time. The compounds investigated included biochanin A, daidzein, equol, formononetin, genistein, and coumestrol.

Determination of the cross-reactivities for alpha-zearalenol, beta-zearalenol, zearalanone, alpha-zearalanol, and beta-zearalanol on three commercial immunoaffinity columns targeting zearalenone.

Immunoaffinity extraction has become increasingly important as a sample preparation and cleanup method in mycotoxin analysis. In this study, the antibody specificities of 3 commercial immunoaffinity columns (IACs) targeting zearalenone (ZON) were compared for alpha-zearalenol, beta-zearalenol, zearalanone, alpha-zearalanol, and beta-zearalanol. The recoveries of ZON and its 5 analogs were determined in triplicate when extracted from 10 mL circumneutral river water samples spiked with 20 ng analyte individually or in a mixture.

Quantification of estrogenic mycotoxins at the ng/L level in aqueous environmental samples using deuterated internal standards.

Because of their pronounced estrogenicity, resorcyclic acid lactones (RALs) are of concern in aqueous environments even at the low ng/L level. Therefore, we developed an accurate, precise and sensitive HPLC-MS/MS method to detect these mycotoxins in different aqueous environmental samples. The compounds investigated included zearalenone (ZON), alpha- and beta-zearalenol, zearalanone as well as alpha- and beta-zearalanol.

Exhaustive extraction of sulfonamide antibiotics from aged agricultural soils using pressurized liquid extraction.

A pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) method was developed for the quantification of five sulfonamide antibiotics (sulfadiazine, sulfadimethoxine, sulfamethazine, sulfamethoxazole, and sulfathiazole) in aged soil samples. To account for sequestration effects the extraction was optimized using a composite grassland soil sample collected 11 days after the application of manure containing these substances. The optimized method uses a mixture of buffered water (pH 8.