| Abstract
| - Aflatoxins spiked at three different levels (6.5, 13.0, and 19.5 μg/kg) in tahini, a sesame butter, wereanalyzed by using three different methods: high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC),fluorometry, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). An immunoaffinity column was usedfor cleanup and purification of extracts prior to detection by HPLC and fluorometry. All methods werestatistically evaluated for accuracy, precision, and simple correlations. Additionally, 14 tahini samplesrandomly obtained from Turkish retail markets were analyzed using an immunoaffinity column cleanupprocedure coupled with the HPLC detection method. The fluorometric determination method involvingan immunoaffinity column cleanup step was found to be highly correlated with the HPLC method (r= 0.978). Both methods were found to be effective due to their high recoveries and low variance forthe prediction of total aflatoxin contamination in tahini samples. The ELISA method, due to its highvariation in replicates, was found to be applicable only as a screening method. The survey studydemonstrated the need for control of aflatoxin contamination of foodstuffs involving sesame seedsas an ingredient. Keywords: Aflatoxin; analysis; sesame seeds; tahini; high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC);fluorometry; enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA); immunoaffinity column
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