Toxicity and occurrence of Fusarium species and mycotoxins in late harvested and overwintered grain from Norway, 1993

Samples of grain, harvested in October/November of 1993 or in the spring of 1994 from fields in Norway with overwintered grain, were collected. The presence of Fusarium species and the amount of mycotoxins produced by this genus were determined. The cytotoxic properties of the grain samples were examined with an in vitro methylthiazoltetrazolium (MTT)-cell culture assay using swine kidney and VERO cells as target cells. The total count of colony forming units of Fusarium species was about the same in the grain harvested in late autumn and in the spring, but the dominant species seemed to vary somewhat between the two groups. F. culmorum was found more in the samples from October/November while F. avenaceum was isolated more in the grain harvested in the spring. Only small amounts of F. sporotrichioides were present in the grain harvested in the autumn, and none was found in the overwintered grain. The deoxynivalenol content was significantly higher in the grain harvested in autumn than in the overwintered grain. Although very small amounts of toxins were detected in the overwintered grain, it was more cytotoxic than the grain harvested in October/November. A significant correlation between the cytotoxicity and the amount of F. avenaceum in the samples was found.