Zearalenone in cereal grains

Abstract Zearalenone, a secondary metabolite with estrogenic properties, is produced by severalFusarium species that colonize cereal grains in the field and in storage. Recently, there have been reports of zearalenone contamination in corn, oats, barley, wheat, and grain sorghum. Corn and grain sorghum were examined for contamination due to obvious mold damage. Wheat, corn, and sorghum have been examined to determine the incidence of zearalenone in grains moving through commercial channels and stored on farms and at country elevators. Other grains such as oats and barley were analyzed because of associated estrogenic disturbances in farm animals. Stepsin procedures for the determination of zearalenone are extraction of a representative sample, partial purification of the extract by column chromatography, alkali treatment, or liquid‐liquid partitioning, and subsequent measurement of the isolated toxin. Zearalenone is measured in partially purified extracts by thin layer chromatography (TLC), gas liquid chromatography (GLC), and high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). Confirmation of zearalenone contamination can be accomplished by gas chromatography‐mass spectroscopy (GC‐MS). Multitoxin screening procedures have been deveoped for zearalenone in combination with one or more of the following mycotoxins: aflatoxin, T‐2 toxin, diacetoxyscirpenol, patulin, ochratoxin, penicillic acid, citrinin, penitrem A, and sterigmatocystin.