Determination of total fumonisins in corn by competitive direct enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay: Collaborative study

Fumonisins-mycotoxins produced by some Fusarium species-have been shown to be the causative agent of diseases in horses and other domesticated animals as well as possible carcinogens in humans. A collaborative study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a competitive direct enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (CD-ELISA) for the determination of total fumonisins (B-1, B-2, and B-3) in corn. The test portion was extracted with methanol-water (7 + 3), filtered, diluted, and tested on the CD-ELISA. Naturally and artificially contaminated corn test portions were sent to 13 collaborators in the United States. Naturally contaminated field test portions were prepared at 3 different levels. Artificially contaminated test portions were spiked at 1.0, 3.0, and 5.0 mg/kg total fumonisins (B-1, B-2, and B-3). Average recoveries of total fumonisins were 120, 100, and 90%, respectively. The relative standard deviations for repeatability ranged from 13.3 to 23.3% and the relative standard deviations for reproducibility ranged from 15.8 to 30.3% across all levels tested. HORRAT values, calculated for each individual sample, ranged from 1.24 to 1.94. This method demonstrated acceptable intra- and interlaboratory precision at the levels tested.