Occurrence of Aflatoxin B1 in wheat grains samples stored in Egyptian homes: seasonal and regional studies

The present study aims to investigate the occurrence of aflatoxin B₁, the most important mycotoxins and potent natural carcinogen known, in wheat grains samples stored in Egyptian homes. Wheat (Triticum vulgare L.) grains samples were collected from different villages in two Egyptian Governorates, Sharqia and Minia, during the period (2017-2018) and used immediately for Aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁), moisture and fat determination. AFB₁ in samples were varied from 0.89 to 3.12 and 1.01 to 3.79 µg.kg^-1 in Sharqia and Minia governorates samples, respectively. Also, the moisture and fat contents were varied from 12.67 to 16.02 and 1.28 to 1.93 g.100g^-1 (in Sharqia) and 12.79 to 15.79 and 1.42 to 1.94 g.100g^-1 (In Minia) Governorates samples, respectively. Samples with the higher AFB₁ concentration are the samples of higher moisture and fat content. A percent of 33.33 and 41.66% of the tested wheat grains samples recorded AFB₁ concentration more than the maximum permissible limits for human consumption (2 μg/kg AFB₁) in Sharqia and Minia Governorates, respectively. When all wheat samples were included in the statistical analysis, there was a positive significant (p≤ 0.05) relationship between moisture content (r² = 0.6878), fat content (r² = 0.6373) and AFB1 concentration. These correlations confirm that moisture content is mainly participate for the AFB₁ concentration of the tested wheat grain samples while fat content are partially participated. Significant variations in AFB₁ were observed amongst the samples tested which clearly indicated seasonality and regional factors affected. In conclusion, consumption of some wheat sampled storage by traditional methods can pose a potential risk of development of various diseases in human as the result of such wheat grains with high levels of AFB₁. Also, for the proper storage of wheat grains, environmental factors such as moisture content and temperature must be controlled.