Background and Objective: Mycotoxins are toxic secondary metabolites produced by fungi that contaminate food products such as wheat and pose significant health risks when consumed by humans.
Materials and Methods: This study aimed to analyze eight mycotoxins—deoxynivalenol, zearalenone, ochratoxin A (OTA), total aflatoxins, and the individual aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, and G2—in flour samples collected from factories in Ardabil city. To this end, eight samples were analyzed, including six lavash bread flour samples and two barbari bread flour samples. Solid-phase extraction using immunoaffinity columns, followed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with spectrofluorimetric detection, was employed to measure the concentrations of the targeted mycotoxins.
Results: The results showed that deoxynivalenol was detected in three lavash flour samples at concentrations of 178.7, 136.4, and 188 ng/g. In contrast, the remaining lavash samples and all barbari flour samples had deoxynivalenol levels below the instrument’s detection limit of 100 ng/g. Additionally, all other analyzed mycotoxins were below the detection limits in all flour samples.
Conclusion: This study found that the levels of all eight fungal mycotoxins in wheat flour were below the permissible limits defined by Standard No. 5925 of the National Standards Organization of Iran, indicating no significant threat to human health. Despite these reassuring results, it is recommended to regularly monitor various types of flour and other wheat-based products across different seasons, due to potential variations in wheat supply from different regions of the country or from international sources.
