The state-of-the-art in the analysis of type-A and -B trichothecene mycotoxins in cereals

The aim of this review is to describe the state-of-the-art in the analysis of A- and B-trichothecene mycotoxins in cereals and to support knowledge and experience exchange between laboratories in the field of Fusarium mycotoxin analysis. Current screening tests and quantitative methods for the most prevalent type-A and -B trichothecenes, HT-2 and T-2-toxin, and deoxynivalenol (DON) are reviewed. This includes the extraction and clean-up procedures and chromatographic methods (TLC, HPLC, GC) applied and the immunochemical methods, especially enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), employed for the determination of these mycotoxins. Results from recent intercomparison studies of the determination of DON are also discussed. Experience gained during these intercomparisons clearly shows the need for further improvement in the determination of trichothecenes, to obtain more accurate and comparable results. This also indicates there is a strong need for the development of further certified reference materials (CRM) which would enable comparison of measurement results between different European laboratories for several A- and B-trichothecenes. For both A- and B-trichothecenes there is still a lack of simple and reliable screening methods enabling the rapid detection of these mycotoxins at low cost.