A comparative study of the human urinary mycotoxin excretion patterns in Bangladesh, Germany, and Haiti using a rapid and sensitive LC-MS/MS approach

An improved "dilute and shoot" LC-MS/MS multibiomarker approach was used to monitor urinary excretion of 23 mycotoxins and their metabolites in human populations from Asia (Bangladesh), Europe (Germany), and the Caribbean region (Haiti). Deoxynivalenol (DON), deoxynivalenol-3-glucuronide (DON-3-GlcA), T-2-toxin (T-2), HT-2-toxin (HT-2), HT-2-toxin-4-glucuronide (HT-2-4-GlcA), fumonisin B-1 (FB1), aflatoxins (AFB(1), AFB(2), AFG(1), AFG(2), AFM(1)), zearalenone (ZEA), zearalanone (ZAN), their urinary metabolites alpha-zearalanol alpha-ZEL) and beta-zearalanol (beta-ZEL), and corresponding 14-O-glucuronic acid conjugates (ZEA-14-GlcA, ZAN-14-GlcA, beta-ZEL, alpha/beta-ZEL-14-GlcA), ochratoxin A (OTA), and ochratoxin alpha (OT alpha) as well as enniatin B (EnB) and dihydrocitrinone (DH-CIT) were among these compounds. Eight urinary mycotoxin biomarkers were detected (AFM(1), DH-CIT, DON, DON-GLcA, EnB, FB1, OTA, and alpha-ZEL). DON and DON-GlcA were exclusively detected in urines from Germany and Haiti whereas urinary OTA and DH-CIT concentrations were significantly higher in Bangladeshi samples. AFM(1) was present in samples from Bangladesh and Haiti only. Exposure was estimated by the calculation of probable daily intakes (PDI), and estimates suggested occasional instances of toxin intakes that exceed established tolerable daily intakes (TDI). The detection of individual mycotoxin exposure by biomarker-based approaches is a meaningful addition to the classical monitoring of the mycotoxin content of the food supply.