| Abstract
| - Studies were undertaken to determine the fate of the mycotoxins, fumonisins, during the process ofalkaline cooking (nixtamalization), using normal-appearing corn that was naturally contaminatedwith fumonisin B1 (FB1) at 8.79 ppm. Corn was processed into tortillas, starting with raw corn thatwas cooked with lime and allowed to steep overnight; the steeped corn (nixtamal) was washed andground into masa, which was used to make tortillas. Calculations to determine how much of theoriginal fumonisin remained in the finished products took into consideration that FB1 will beconverted to hydrolyzed fumonisin B1 (HFB1) by the process of alkaline cooking. All fractions,including steeping and washing water, were weighed, and percent moisture and fumonisin contentwere determined. Tortillas contained approximately 0.50 ppm of FB1, plus 0.36 ppm of HFB1, whichrepresented 18.5% of the initial FB1 concentration. Three-fourths of the original amount of fumonisinwas present in the liquid fractions, primarily as HFB1. Nixtamalization significantly reduced theamount of fumonisin in maize. Keywords: Alkaline cooking; corn; fumonisin B1; hydrolyzed fumonisin B1; nixtamalization
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