Natural co-occurrence of aflatoxins and ochratoxin A in liquorice roots

The natural co-occurrence of aflatoxins (AFs) and ochratoxin A (OTA) in liquorice roots obtained from different herbal outlets of Karachi, Pakistan, was evaluated. A total of 60 samples were obtained during 2019-2021 and analysed using HPLC with fluorescence detection. The method was validated according to the European Union (EU) regulation. The incidence of AFs was 52 in all tested samples (87%), with a contamination range of 1.2-6.4 mu g kg-1 and an average of 2.1 +/- 0.3 mu g kg-1. In all samples, the AFs contamination was below the maximum limit (ML) of 10 mu g kg-1 for total AFs as set by the EU. The OTA contamination in all samples ranged 1.5-60.3 mu g kg-1, with a mean of 18.9 +/- 0.8 mu g kg-1. In 36 samples (60%) the OTA contamination was below the ML of 20 mu g kg-1 as set by the EU. These results led to the recommendation to test liquorice root on mycotoxins, as it comes to food quality standards.