Natural contamination of cyclopiazonic acid in dried figs and co-occurrence of aflatoxin

Abstract

Abstract Natural cyclopiazonic acid (CPA) and aflatoxin (AF) contamination were investigated in Aspergillus section Flavi positive dried fig samples collected from orchards after harvesting. Cyclopiazonic acid and AF were determined by thin layer chromatography (TLC) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), respectively. Cyclopiazonic acid was found in all samples of dried figs that contain AF. Cyclopiazonic acid and AF co-occurred in 23% of the samples. The number of dried fig samples contaminated with CPA was higher than the samples containing AF. Therefore CPA was a more common mycotoxin than AF in dried figs. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of CPA and co-occurrence of CPA and AF in dried figs.