Assessment of aflatoxin M1 and B1 in some dairy products with referring to the analytical performances of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in comparison to high-performance liquid chromatography

Research (Published online: 22-01-2022)

12. Assessment of aflatoxin M₁ and B₁ in some dairy products with referring to the analytical performances of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in comparison to high-performance liquid chromatography

Raghda Mohamed Esam, Ragaa Shehata Hafez, Nagwa Ibrahim Mohamed Khafaga, Karima Mogahed Fahim and Lamiaa Ibrahim Ahmed

Veterinary World, 15(1): 91-101

Raghda Mohamed Esam: Department of Food Hygiene and Control, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, Giza, 12211, Egypt.

Ragaa Shehata Hafez: Department of Food Hygiene and Control, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, Giza, 12211, Egypt.

Nagwa Ibrahim Mohamed Khafaga: Department of Food Hygiene, Animal Health Research Institute, Giza, Egypt.

Karima Mogahed Fahim: Department of Food Hygiene and Control, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, Giza, 12211, Egypt.

Lamiaa Ibrahim Ahmed: Department of Food Hygiene and Control, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, Giza, 12211, Egypt.

doi: www.doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2022.91-101

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Article history: Received: 03-08-2021, Accepted: 06-12-2021, Published online: 22-01-2022

Corresponding authors: Lamiaa Ibrahim Ahmed

E-mail: lamiaa_13@cu.edu.eg

Citation: Esam RM, Hafez RS, Khafaga NIM, Fahim KM, Ahmed LI (2022) Assessment of aflatoxin M₁ and B₁ in some dairy products with referring to the analytical performances of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in comparison to high-performance liquid chromatography, Veterinary World, 15(1): 91-101.

Abstract

Background and Aim: Aflatoxin M₁ (AFM₁) is a major fungal metabolite found in milk coming from aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁) contaminated rations and is subsequently present in milk-based products demonstrating a serious public health hazard. This study aimed to investigate the levels of AFM₁ and AFB₁ in milk and some dairy products consumed widely by infants and children.

Materials and Methods: This study investigated the incidence of AFM₁ in 105 samples of processed cheese, Ras cheese, and raw milk (35 of each) retailed in the Egyptian markets. The degree of sensitivity and accuracy was evaluated using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method followed by the estimation of the positive samples using the high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection. Mold count was determined in the examined samples by investigating AFB₁ content using HPLC.

Results: AFM₁ was found in all investigated Ras cheese, raw milk, and 82.86% of the processed cheese samples with mean values of 51.05±6.19, 40.27±3.996, and 10.77±1.39 ng/kg, respectively. Moreover, there was statistically no significant difference between AFM₁ levels in the core and crust parts of the tested Ras cheese. AFM₁ contaminated Ras cheese and raw milk samples were 48.57% and 25.71%, which exceeded the European and Egyptian tolerance levels. Results showed an acceptable correlation between ELISA and HPLC methods with no significant difference (p>0.05). Alternatively, none of the examined samples proved to be contaminated with AFB₁ despite the presence of mold with mean counts of 3.79±3.29, 4.39±4.34, and 4.84±4.29 log CFU/g in the examined processed cheese, Ras cheese, and raw milk samples, respectively.

Conclusion: Therefore, it is urgent to regularly inspect the contamination of animal feeds with AFB₁ and apply special measures and novel techniques to protect the feed and food from public health hazards.

Keywords: aflatoxin B₁, aflatoxin M₁, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, high-performance liquid chromatography, mold, sensitivity.