Mycobiota and mycotoxins in malted barley and brewer’s spent grain from Argentinian breweries

GONZALEZ PEREYRA ML; ROSA CAR; DALCERO AM; CAVAGLIERI L

LETTERS IN APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Lugar: Inglaterra; Año: 2011 p. 1 - 7

0266-8254

Aims: To evaluate mycobiota and aflatoxins B1 (AFB1), B2 (AFB2), G1 (AFG1), G2 (AFG2) and fumonisin B1 (FB1) contamination in different malted barley types and brands and brewer’s grain collected from a major Argentinean brewery. Methods and Results: Total fungal counts were done using the plate count method. Aflatoxin B1, AFB2, AFG1, AFG2 and ZEA analyses were performed by thin layer chromatography (TLC). Fumonisin B1 was determined by HPLC. Eighty-three % of the malted barley (100% M1, 50% M2 and 100% M3) and 61% of brewer’s grain samples had a count greater than 1 x 104 CFU/g. Yeasts were isolated from all malt and brewer’s grain samples. Genera containing some of the most important mycotoxin producer species – Fusarium spp., Aspergillus spp., Penicillium spp. and Alternaria spp. - were isolated from the analyzed samples, along with other environmental saprophytic fungi such as Geotrichum spp., Mucorales and Cladosporium spp. All samples were contaminated with 104 to 145 µg kg-1 FB1. 18% of brewer’s grain samples were contaminated with 19 to 44.52 µg kg-1 AFB1. Aflatoxin B2, AFG1, AFG2 and ZEA were not detected in any of the analyzed samples. Conclusions: fungal and mycotoxin contamination in malt and brewer’s grain is an actual risk for animal and human health. Significance and Impact of Study: This study may be useful for assessing the risk of mycotoxins in Argentinean beers and especially in animal feeds.