MacLeod, A.1, Tess, M.2, Wasacz, C.1 and Putnam, K.2, (1)Hartwick College Center for Craft Food and Beverage, Oneonta, NY, USA, (2)Charm Sciences, Lawrence, MA, USA
Poster
The fungal pathogen Fusarium head blight (FHB) affects barley and wheat causing loss of yield, kernel damage and negatively affects the quality of finished malt and beer. The fungal species Fusarium graminearum thrives in malting conditions and produces toxic bi-products that are able to survive the malting and brewing process. Deoxynivalenol (DON), part of the tricothecene mycotoxin family, is a toxin most commonly produced by the fungi Fusarium. DON can been detected in kernels that that do not show FHB symptoms. The accurate measurement of the levels of DON is an important critical control point in the selection of barley for malting and in finished malt. Rapid methods are required for screening grain samples at intake for selection and segregation. Typically commercial kits employing on Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) are used for this purpose, and have been adopted as official methods in the industry. More recently a class of rapid test kits based on an immunochromatographic principle, also called Lateral Flow Aasays (LFA) have become available offering rapid and sensitive detection of DON in a variety of matrices. In this study, two different commercially available lateral flow assay kits, Charm ROSA DONQ2 and Neogen Reveal Q+ were used to quantify DON levels in samples of un-malted and malted barley. Results were compared with both traditional ELISA and high performance liquid chromatography methods. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to determine whether the method means generated can be considered as equal. The LFA results were well correlated with the reference methods over the range of activity normally encountered. The repeatability of the LFA was found to be similar to ELISA with improvement in speed and ease of use. The immuno-assays are very powerful screening tools to assess a large number of samples in a rapid timeframe with a minimum of effort, avoiding costly labor or expensive lab equipment. These kits were found to be well suited for screening and possess the sensitivity to adequately screen un-malted grain samples and differentiate positive from negative samples. It is advisable to analyze samples flagged by rapid methods as positive using chromatography for precise quantification.
Kyle Putnam has a B.S. degree in environmental science from Saint Michael’s College near Burlington, VT. Kyle has worked in the Mycotoxin R&D Department at Charm Sciences, Inc. as a lateral flow product development specialist for eight years. Kyle has recently developed the DONQ2 quantitative test kit for detection of deoxynivalenol in agricultural commodities; this test has a reduced assay time (from 10 minutes to 2 minutes) with improved accuracy and precision. Kyle also assists with training and implementation of these methods at customer locations while taking an active interest in developing safer, faster, easier-to-use tests to meet customer demand in a competitive and growing market.
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