en Evaluation of Aflatoxin Contamination in Maize from Mazandaran Province in Iran فارماكوگنوزی و فارماسيوتيكس Pharmacognosy & Pharmaceutics پژوهشی Research <p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Background:</strong> In Iran, maize is cultivated in wide areas including northern provinces. It is one of the most important crops for poultry and livestock feeding, which is susceptible to aflatoxins (AFs) contamination. So, pre-harvest maize samples from Mazandaran province, north of Iran were analyzed for AFs contamination.</p> <p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Objective:</strong> Methods: Thirty-five pre-harvest maize samples were analyzed using immunoaffinity column and reversed-phase liquid chromatography with post-column derivatization.</p> <p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Results:</strong> Data revealed that incidence of AFB₁, AFB₂ and total aflatoxins (AFT) in maize samples were 66%, 54% and 63% with mean of 9.5 &plusmn; 16.3, 1.7 &plusmn; 2.6 and 10.4 &plusmn; 18.4 ng/g, respectively.</p> <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Conclusion:</strong> The mean level of AFB₁ in samples was higher than the Iranian maximum tolerated level (MTL). But, AFT mean level (10.4 ng/g) was lower than the Iranian and US (20 ng/g) MTLs.</div> <p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Background:</strong> In Iran, maize is cultivated in wide areas including northern provinces. It is one of the most important crops for poultry and livestock feeding, which is susceptible to aflatoxins (AFs) contamination. So, pre-harvest maize samples from Mazandaran province, north of Iran were analyzed for AFs contamination.</p> <p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Objective:</strong> Methods: Thirty-five pre-harvest maize samples were analyzed using immunoaffinity column and reversed-phase liquid chromatography with post-column derivatization.</p> <p dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Results:</strong> Data revealed that incidence of AFB₁, AFB₂ and total aflatoxins (AFT) in maize samples were 66%, 54% and 63% with mean of 9.5 &plusmn; 16.3, 1.7 &plusmn; 2.6 and 10.4 &plusmn; 18.4 ng/g, respectively.</p> <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Conclusion:</strong> The mean level of AFB₁ in samples was higher than the Iranian maximum tolerated level (MTL). But, AFT mean level (10.4 ng/g) was lower than the Iranian and US (20 ng/g) MTLs.</div> Maize, Aflatoxins, HPLC, Mazandaran, Iran Maize, Aflatoxins, HPLC, Mazandaran, Iran 109 114 http://jmp.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-197-2&slc_lang=en&sid=1 MR Hadiani MR Hadiani 100319475328460038572 100319475328460038572 No Food and Drug Control Laboratories, Food and Drug Deputy, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran Food and Drug Control Laboratories, Food and Drug Deputy, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran H Yazdanpanah H Yazdanpanah 100319475328460038573 100319475328460038573 No Food and Drug Laboratory Research Center, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Pharmacy, Shaheed Beheshti Medical University Food and Drug Laboratory Research Center, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Pharmacy, Shaheed Beheshti Medical University M Amirahmadi M Amirahmadi 100319475328460038574 100319475328460038574 No Food and Drug Control Laboratories, Food and Drug Deputy, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran Food and Drug Control Laboratories, Food and Drug Deputy, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran H Soleimani H Soleimani 100319475328460038575 100319475328460038575 No Department of Biology, Shahr-Qods Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, I.R. Iran Department of Biology, Shahr-Qods Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, I.R. Iran Sh Shoeibi Sh Shoeibi 100319475328460038576 100319475328460038576 No Food and Drug Control Laboratories, Food and Drug Deputy, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Food and Drug Laboratory Research Center, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Food and Drug Control Laboratories, Food and Drug Deputy, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Food and Drug Laboratory Research Center, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, R Khosrokhavar Khosrokhavar khosrokhavar_r@yahoo.com 100319475328460038577 100319475328460038577 Yes Food and Drug Control Laboratories, Food and Drug Deputy, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Food and Drug Laboratory Research Center, Ministry of Health and Medical Education Food and Drug Control Laboratories, Food and Drug Deputy, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Food and Drug Laboratory Research Center, Ministry of Health and Medical Education