Occurrence of Zearalenone and Ochratoxin A in Wheat and Barley in Some Regions in Bulgaria

Nadezhda Sertova

Abstract: Feed grains are prone to fungal infections during growth, harvesting, and storage. Corns such as
wheat and barley may be contaminated with mycotoxins leading to acute and chronic animal health
exposure. The objective of this study was to obtain an information on the levels of ochratoxin A
(OTA) and zearalenone (ZEA) in wheat (n=26) and barley (n=21) samples intended for feeding to
farm animals. The samples were collected from different regions of Bulgaria in 2017 harvest and analyzed
by using Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The results showed that 35% of wheat
samples were contaminated with ZEA in the range of 51.65 μg kg-1–126.54 μg kg-1 and in 29% barley
samples the contamination was between 48.67–79.64 μg kg-1. OTA pollution was registered in 19% of
wheat samples in the range 4.86–7.32 μg kg-1 and in 29% barley samples it was between 4.46–11.70 μg
kg-1 respectively. In all of the investigated samples the contamination with OTA and ZEA is bellow
the limit set in the valid EC Recommendation 576/2006/EC.

Keywords: barley; ELISA; mycotoxins; ochratoxin A; wheat; zearalenone

Date published: 2021-06-29