Dietary fumonisin exposure in a rural population of South Africa.

Abstract

A validated culturally specific dietary assessment method was used to determine the habitual maize intakes of black Xhosa-speaking Africans living in the Centane region of the Eastern Cape Province to assess their exposure to the carcinogenic fumonisin mycotoxins. The mean total dry weight maize intakes of home-grown, commercial or combined (both maize sources) were 474, 344, 462 g day(-1), respectively. When considering the total mean levels of fumonisin in home-grown maize (1142 microg kg(-1)) and commercial maize (222 microg kg(-1)), the probable daily intakes (PDI's), expressed as microg kg(-1) body weight day(-1) were 12.1 (95%CI: 0.3-4926.5) and 1.3 (95%CI: 1.0-1.8) for men and 6.7 (95%CI: 1.0-457.8) and 1.1 (95%CI: 0.9-1.3) for women, consuming home-grown and commercial maize, respectively. Based on the different maize-based beer drinking frequencies the PDI's varied between 6.9 and 12.0 microg kg(-1)/drinking event. Depending on the maize intake patterns an exposure "window" exists where fumonisin exposure is below the recommended group provisional maximum tolerable daily intake (PMTDI) for fumonisins of 2 microg kg(-1)bw day(-1). The assessment of fumonisin exposure and development of preventative strategies depend, not only the accurate determination of total fumonisin levels in maize, but also on the distinct dietary patterns of a specific population.

• Authors: H-M Burger, M J Lombard, G S Shephard, J R Rheeder, L van der Westhuizen, W C A Gelderblom
• Journal: Food and chemical toxicology : an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association (Food Chem Toxicol) 2010 Aug-Sep Vol. 48 Issue 8-9 Pg. 2103-8 ISSN: 1873-6351 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 20488220 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Chemical References

• Fumonisins

Topics

• Adolescent
• Adult
• Aged
• Beer
• Cooking
• Diet
• Diet Surveys
• Female
• Food Contamination
• Fumonisins (analysis, chemistry)
• Humans
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Rural Population
• South Africa
• Young Adult
• Zea mays (microbiology)