Aflatoxin evaluation in ready-to-eat brazil nuts using reversed-phase liquid chromatography and post-column derivatisation

摘要

A high-performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence (HPLC-FD) method for aflatoxin quantification in brazil nuts was developed. Samples of brazil nuts collected in Brazilian markets were extracted with methanol:water and cleaned using an immunoaffinity column. Aflatoxins were eluted with methanol and a post-column derivatisation was performed with bromine, using a Kobra Cell system. The optimised method for total aflatoxins was sensitive, with detection and quantification limits of 0.05 and 0.25 μg kg~(-1), respectively. The method was accurate, with recovery values of 87.6%; 85.3% and 85.0% for 0.5, 5.0 and 14.6 μg kg(-1) spiked levels, respectively. It was shown that the method was applicable to brazil nuts. From a total of 95 brazil nut samples analysed from 21 Sao Paulo supermarket samples and 51 Manaus and 23 Belem street markets samples, 37.9% showed detectable levels of aflatoxins and three exceeded the recommended Codex Alimentarius limit of 10 μg kg~(-1) for ready-to-eat brazil nuts.