Linking extraction and purification of maize samples for fumonisin analysis

Fumonisins are produced by several fungal species that are common contaminants of maize, The most abundant naturally occurring fumonisin, fumonisin B1 (FB1), has been shown to induce several animal disease syndromes. The development of analytical methods is therefore important. A new method is described that integrates extraction and purification of maize samples in one step. It efficiency is compared against wellknown methods, and shows similar results for naturally contaminated maize. It is concluded that the proposed method can be applied to fumonisin B1 and fumonisin B2 (FB2) analysis in maize at least within the con2 centration range found.