Investigation of aflatoxins level in some packaged and bulk legumes collected from Tehran market of Iran

ABSTRACT

Aflatoxins are types of mycotoxins that can cause acute and chronic toxicity in human. In general, there are four types of aflatoxinsB1, B2, G1 and G2, which among them aflatoxin B1 is the most potent carcinogen in animal species and causes liver cancer. The goal of this study was to evaluate of aflatoxin concentration in legumes samples marketed in Tehranbya high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Fifty samples of legumes including peas, red beans, lentils, mung bean and cotyledons (n = 10 of pea, n = 10 of red bean, n = 10 of lentils, n = 10 of mung bean and n = 10 of cotyledons) were obtained from different regions (bulk legumes) of Tehran city in Iran and different packaging brands that had the highest supply in Tehran stores and were transported to the laboratory under appropriate conditions to measure aflatoxin (B1, B2, G1, G2 and total).

Considering the limit of detection (LOD) of the current study, the aflatoxin level of all samples of peas, red beans, lentils, mung bean and cotyledons samples was lower than LOD. Based on the results, it can be concluded that the consumption of legumes in Tehran city by consumers can be safe, but more research is needed to avoid potential risks, and also routine and periodic monitoring of aflatoxin levels in legumes is recommended.

KEYWORDS:

• Aflatoxin
• HPLC
• food safety
• legumes

Acknowledgments

This work was a funded MSc thesis in food safety and hygiene course in School of Public Health at Tehran University of Medical Sciences.

Disclosure statement

The authors of this article declare that they have no conflict of interests.