A typical mycotoxin profile for original (reproductive) oilseed rape seeds

For rapeseed, the world’s third largest source of vegetable oil, there are special requirements for post-harvest processing, which are rapid drying to the required moisture content due to the threat of mass mold during storage (J.T. Mills, 1987; J.T. Mills, R.N. Sinha, 1980). The authors of publications explained all known cases of mycotoxin detection in seeds of this crop by either infection of plants in the field or by the impact of unfavorable factors during harvesting (I. Brazauskiene et al., 2006; A. Mankeviciene et al., 2011, L. Wu et al., 2017). In this study, for the first time, we have confirmed that the presence of toxic metabolites of fungi of the genera Fusarium , Alternaria , Penicillium , Aspergillus , Myrothecium and a number of others is not typical for seeds of this crop. The purpose of this work was mycotoxicological examination of oilseed rape Brassica napus L. ssp. oleifera (Metzg.) Sinsk seeds under proper phytosanitary and technological conditions during cultivation, harvesting and storage. Original (reproduction) seeds were harvested in 2009-2021 from experimental plots (the Laboratory of fodder crops and field feed production systems, the Williams Federal Research Center, Moscow Province). After grinding in a laboratory mill, 158 samples were analyzed by a unified methodology using certified commercial and research enzyme immunoassay test systems (GOST 31653-2012). For extraction, a mixture of acetonitrile and water was used (84:16 v/v), 5 ml per 1 g sample. Mycotoxins (T-2 toxin, deoxynivalenol, zearalenone, fumonisins of group B, ergot alkaloids, alternariol, roridin A, aflatoxin B1, sterigmatocystin, cyclopiazonic acid, emodin, ochratoxin A, citrinin, mycophenolic acid, PR-toxin) were determined in extracts after 10-fold dilution with phosphate-salt buffer solution (pH 7.4) with Tween 20. The analyzed mycotoxins were not found in the seeds of the 2009-2020 harvests collected under normal weather conditions and without violations of the drying and storage regimes. For only one sample of spring rapeseed (Bison variety, 2019), weak contamination with mycophenolic acid was detected and the producer Aspergillus pseudoglaucus Blochwitz was identified in the mycobiota. In the seeds of the 2021 harvested under elevated temperature and humidity, contamination with ergot alkaloids (from 2 to 12 μg/kg = ppb) was found in 67.5 % of spring and 25.6 % of winter crops. In addition, 28.6 % of spring rape samples contained alternariol, mainly in low concentrations (from 8 to 32 ppb) and rarely with a more pronounced accumulation (from 46 to 775 ppb). In one spring rapeseed sample which was stored in an under-dried state for the longest time, the greatest contamination with alternariol occurred and intensive infection with th