Rapid determination of aflatoxins in corn and peanuts

A rapid and simple method using ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography with UV detection for the determination of aflatoxins B1, B2, G1 and G2 in corn and peanuts has been developed. In this method, aflatoxins were extracted with a mixture of acetonitrile and water (86:14) and then purified by solid-phase clean-up with a MycoSep#226 AflaZon+ column. The toxins were determined by UPLC–UV without derivatizing aflatoxins in real samples, which has not been used in other studies. The mean recoveries of aflatoxins from non-infected peanut and corn samples spiked with aflatoxins B1, B2, G1 and G2 at concentrations from 0.22 to 5 μg/kg were between 83.4% and 94.7%. The detection limits (S/N = 3) for B1, B2, G1 and G2 were 0.32, 0.19, 0.32 and 0.19 μg/kg, and the corresponding quantification limits (S/N = 10) were 1.07, 0.63, 1.07 and 0.63 μg/kg, respectively. We also applied this method on real samples. Among 16 peanut samples, 2 (12.5% incidence) were contaminated with aflatoxin; among 18 corn samples, 4 (22% incidence) were contaminated. The proposed method is rapid, simple and accurate for monitoring aflatoxins in corn and peanuts.