1. Frequency and levels of aflatoxin M 1 in urine of children in Bogota, Colombia.
- Author
-
Sánchez EM and Diaz GJ
- Subjects
- Adolescent, Biomarkers urine, Child, Child, Preschool, Colombia, Cross-Sectional Studies, Emergency Service, Hospital, Female, Humans, Male, Qualitative Research, Surveys and Questionnaires, Aflatoxin M1 urine, Aflatoxins urine, Edible Grain chemistry, Food Contamination analysis
- Abstract
A study was conducted to investigate the frequency and levels of AFM
1 and AFM2 in urine from children who attended the emergency service of a pediatric referral hospital in Bogota, Colombia. A survey on the consumption of foods likely to be a source of aflatoxins and on sociodemographic variables was conducted as well. The frequency of AFM1 in urine was found to be 41.7% with an average concentration in positive samples of 16 pg mL-1 ± 10.7 pg mL-1 (range > LOD-48.5 pg mL-1 ). The presence of AFM1 in the urine was related to the consumption of cereals likely to be contaminated with AFB1 , especially corn and rice. No detectable levels of AFM2 were found in any sample. The results show that children's exposure to aflatoxins in Colombia is indeed a problem and should be one of the priorities of the health authorities. Continuous monitoring of aflatoxins in foods should be carried out, in compliance with Colombian regulations, using analytical methods that allow determination and quantification of aflatoxins in different biological and non-biological matrices at trace levels.- Published
- 2019
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