Oat Grain Fusariosis and Identification of Toxin Antigens in Plant-based Drinks

Background: Plant-based drinks are becoming increasingly popular not only as substitutes for animal milk, but also as an element of proper nutrition, especially in the segment of functional drinks. One of the popular raw materials on the Russian market is oats. When used in the production of beverages, the main condition for its use is mycological purity, in particular the absence of contamination with fungi of the genus Fusarium. In Russia, plant-based drinks are a fairly young product that does not have regulatory documents regulating the indicators of microorganism contamination of the finished product. Fusarium grain not only leads to a decrease in cereal yields, but also significantly worsens its quality characteristics. A study was conducted on the contamination of oat grains of filmy and naked forms, as well as on the content of Fusarium antigens of various species characteristic of grain crops, such as F. graminearum, F. culmorum, F. sambucinum, F. sporotrichioides, F. tricinctum, F.fujikuroi , F. subalutinans, F. verticillicides, F. avenaceum, F. equiseti, F. poae, F. Moniliforme by enzyme immunoassay in samples of industrial plant-based beverages.

Purpose: Detection of fusarium in oat grain and finished herbal drinks in order to confirm the quality and safety of the finished product.

Materials and methods: Objects of research: filmy oat grain from the 2021 harvest, grown in the Ivanovo region; naked oat grain of the 2021 harvest, grown in the Tula region; industrial samples of herbal drinks made from oats. The studies were carried out according to the following indicators: assessment of Fusarium infestation; determination of antigens of Fusarium spp. enzyme immunoassay method. Determination of fusarium pathogen antigens was carried out using an automatic 8-channel photometer for enzyme immunoassay Ledetect 96.

Results: The degree of infection by fungi of the genus Fusarium of oat grains of naked and chaffy forms has been established. An analysis of the contamination of samples of industrial drinks from plant raw materials was carried out using the enzyme immunoassay method. No Fusarium antigens were detected in the samples studied.

Conclusions: Monitoring of Fusarium antigens is necessary as a safety indicator for herbal beverages.

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