Simple HPLC Determination of Aflatoxins B₁, B₂, G₁ and G₂ in Nuts and Corn

Abstract

A rapid, sensitive and simple method was developed for the analyses of aflatoxins B₁, B₂, G₁ and G₂ in nuts and corn. The method consists of extraction with a mixture of acetonitrile and water (9:1), clean-up on a multifunctional column, derivatization with trifluoroacetic anhydride, and determination of aflatoxins using HPLC with a fluorescence detector. The established method make it possible to analyze aflatoxins wihout using chloroform. Recoveries of aflatoxins B₁, B₂, G₁ and G₂ spiked in peanuts, various other nuts and corn at the level of 1 or 10ng/g were all in the range of 82-102% with low coefficients of variation (2-7%). The minimum detectable concentration for aflatoxin B₁ in peanuts was 0.01ng/g.