Determination of Total Fumonisins in Corn by Competitive Direct Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay: Collaborative Study

Abstract

Abstract Fumonisins—mycotoxins produced by some Fusarium species—have been shown to be the causative agent of diseases in horses and other domesticated animals as well as possible carcinogens in humans. A collaborative study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a competitive direct enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (CD-ELISA) for the determination of total fumonisins (B1, B2, and B3) in corn. The test portion was extracted with methanol–water (7 + 3), filtered, diluted, and tested on the CD-ELISA. Naturally and artificially contaminated corn test portions were sent to 13 collaborators in the United States. Naturally contaminated field test portions were prepared at 3 different levels. Artificially contaminated test portions were spiked at 1.0, 3.0, and 5.0 mg/kg total fumonisins (B1, B2, and B3). Average recoveries of total fumonisins were 120, 100, and 90%, respectively. The relative standard deviations for repeatability ranged from 13.3 to 23.3% and the relative standard deviations for reproducibility ranged from 15.8 to 30.3% across all levels tested. HORRAT values, calculated for each individual sample, ranged from 1.24 to 1.94. This method demonstrated acceptable intra- and interlaboratory precision at the levels tested.