Mehdi Mohammadi

Abstract Aflatoxins (B 1, B 2, G 1 and G 2) are hepatotoxic metabolites produced by Aspergillus flavus on a number of agricultural commodities. Their levels were studied in rice samples imported to Iran through a southern port in Bushehr. Aflatoxins analysis was performed by solvent extraction, immunoaffinity clean-up and determination using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) equipped with post-column photochemical reactor and fluorescence detector. Among 152 samples analyzed, 75% showed levels of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) contamination. However, there was no sample with AFB 1 above maximum tolerated level (MTL) of 5 ng/g assigned by Institute of Standard and Industrial Research of Iran (ISIRI). AFB 1 concentrations in the samples was 0.09 to 3.3 ng/g. Out of the 152 samples analyzed, about 76.97% were contaminated with total aflatoxin (AFT)