Liquid Chromatographic Determination of Fumonisins B1 and. B2 in Corn by Precolumn Derivatization with 4-(N, N-Dimethylaminosulfonyl)-7-fluoro-2, 1, 3-benzoxadiazole (DBD-F)

A new, sensitive and rapid method has been developed for the analysis of fumonisin B1 and fumonisin B2 in corn. Fumonisin B1 and fumonisin B2 which are the major metabolites produced by the fungi Fusarium moniliforme and Fusarium proliferatum, have been implicated in human esophageal cancer and induced pulmonary edemain pigs and leukoencephalomalacia in horses. Fumonisin B1 and fumonisin B2 were extracted from spiked corn with methanol-water (3:1) and then cleaned up by strong anion-exchange (SAX) column chromatography. Fumonisin B1 and fumonisin B2 were eluted fromthe SAX column with 1% acetic acid in methanol and quantitated via gradient elution HPLC using precolumn derivatization with 4-(N, N-dimethylaminosulfonyl)-7-fluoro-2, 1, 3-benzoxadiazole (DBD-F) and fluorescence detection. The minimum detectable concentration in corn was 0.01μg/g. Recovery values for fumonisin B1 and fumonisin B2 in spiked corn averaged 92 and 90%, respectively, at the level of 0.5μg/g.