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The current work reports the ochratoxin A (OTA) levels in 23 food (bread, dried fruit, pulse) and beverage (black tea, coffee) products commonly consumed in Turkey determined with ELISA. OTA levels in kidney bean, haricot bean, and red lentil samples from Turkey were investigated for the first time in this study. The highest OTA levels were detected in instant coffee (158.9 μg kg-1), black tea (139.5 μg kg-1), and filter coffee (118.4 μg kg-1) samples. Of the tested samples, 78.27% exceeded legal limits of OTA. These results support the existing knowledge that food and beverages should be regularly and effectively controlled to protect human health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work reports the total aflatoxin and aflatoxin B1 levels in 62 food samples from Istanbul, Turkey. The total aflatoxin content in dried American cucumber, squash, tomato, okra and saffron samples was found to be 1.7 μg/kg. AFB1 levels in five dried vegetables (red bell pepper, American cucumber, squash, tomato and okra), two tea (linden and jasmine flower) and three spice samples (cardamom, galangal and saffron) were 1 μg/kg. Of the tested samples, 76% exceeded legal limits of total aflatoxin. The highest levels were determined in chestnut (232.9 μg/kg), nutmeg (206.1 μg/kg) and sumac (182.5 μg/kg). These findings confirm the existing knowledge that food should be regularly and effectively controlled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reversed-phase preparative HPLC purification of the methanol (MeOH) extract of the aerial parts of Erica arborea resulted in the isolation of a new flavonoid glycoside, tricetin 4′- O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside, together with the known flavonoid, isorhamnetin 3- O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside. The structures of these compounds were determined by spectroscopic means. The antioxidant properties of these compounds were assessed by the DPPH assay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]