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Ochratoxin A in human blood plasma samples from apparently healthy volunteers in Nanjing, China

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Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the exposure to ochratoxin A (OTA) of populations living in Nanjing, China. Plasma samples were collected from 147 healthy adults (age 18–63 years) and analyzed for OTA by a reliable and sensitive ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method (limit of detection 0.04 ng/mL). After enzymatic hydrolysis by β-glucuronidase/arylsulfatase, OTA was detected in 80.9% plasma samples with mean concentration of 0.26 ± 0.59 ng/mL (range 0.04–6.59 ng/mL). The estimated daily intakes of OTA based on plasma concentrations (mean 0.51 ng/kg bw/day, max 12.99 ng/kg bw/day) were lower than the tolerable daily intake published by European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) or Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JFECFA) indicative of rare risks related to the OTA exposure in the investigated area. This study provides a valuable insight on human exposure to OTA in China. Further studies in children and elder people and in adult cohorts from other regions are recommended.

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (no. 31671950, no. 31972178), the Shanghai City Sci-Tech Joint Research Project in Yangtze River Delta of Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission (18395810100), and the Youth Talent Development Plan of Shanghai Municipal Agricultural System, China (grant no. 20170130).

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Author notes

  1. Kai Fan and Xi Cheng contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Reproductive Medical Center, Nanjing Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University, School of Medicine, Nanjing, 210002, Jiangsu, China

    Kai Fan, Xi Cheng & Bing Yao

  2. Institute for Agro-food Standards and Testing Technology, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Protected Horticultural Technology, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai, 201403, China

    Kai Fan, Wenbo Guo, Xing Liu, Zhiqi Zhang, Dongxie Nie & Zheng Han

  3. Department of Pathology and Pathophysiology, School of Medicine and Life Sciences, Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China

    Qi Yao

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  1. Kai Fan
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Correspondence to Bing Yao or Zheng Han.

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The study design was in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Fan, K., Cheng, X., Guo, W. et al. Ochratoxin A in human blood plasma samples from apparently healthy volunteers in Nanjing, China. Mycotoxin Res 36, 269–276 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12550-020-00387-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12550-020-00387-8

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