Fungal mycoflora and mycotoxins in Korean polished rice destined for humans

Won Park Je, Sang Youn Choi, Han Joon Hwang, Young Bae Kim

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

148 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Rice samples collected from the Republic of Korea were analyzed for fungal mycoflora and mycotoxins: fumonisins, ochratoxin A, trichothecenes, and zearalenone. The potential of the fungi to produce each mycotoxin was also examined, so that the fungal isolates associated with mycotoxins occurring in rice could be verified. Penicillium citrinum and Aspergillus candidus were the most prevalent species infecting the samples, while Fusarium proliferatum was found as the dominant Fusarium species. Ochratoxin A was the most commonly detected mycotoxin analyzed in the present study; moreover, its level in some samples was above the EU tolerable limit (3 ng/g). According to rice culture experiments, it was revealed that in Korea, fumonisins detected in rice were due to F. proliferatum infection, whereas the occurrence of ochratoxin A was caused by Penicillium verrucosum, though there were no symptoms of disease in rice found in any sample. Furthermore, there appears to be an uneven geographical distribution of P. verrucosum as well as ochratoxin A in that most of them are found in the rice samples produced in the northern region of Korea.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)305-314
Number of pages10
JournalInternational Journal of Food Microbiology
Volume103
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2005 Sept 15

Keywords

  • Ochratoxin A
  • P. verrucosum
  • Polished rice
  • Republic of Korea

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Food Science
  • Microbiology

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