Aflatoxins (AFs), ochratoxin A (OTA) and zearalenone (ZEN) were analysed in 237 breakfast cereal samples collected from central areas of Punjab, Pakistan. According to the results, 41% of the samples were found contaminated with AFs, out of which 16% and 8% samples were found to be above the European Union (EU) maximum content for AFB1 and total AFs, respectively. About 48% samples were found c...

The determination of carotene in fresh plant tissue is complicated by the presence of large amounts of water. The tissue must be dehydrated before the carotenoids can be extracted with fat solvents. This has been accomplished in the past by the addition of acetone or ethanol with a fat solvent such as Skellysolve B (8, 5). These methods employ a Waring blendor for disintegrating the tissue in t...

BACKGROUND Phytic acid in cereal-based and legume-based complementary foods inhibits iron absorption. Low iron absorption from cereal porridges contributes to the high prevalence of iron deficiency in infants from developing countries. OBJECTIVE The objective was to measure the influence of phytic acid degradation on iron absorption from cereal porridges. DESIGN An exogenous phytase was use...

The process of matrix clean-up and extraction of analytes has a significant influence on the detection and determination of the analyte, especially in trace amounts. Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are solid particles that can absorb specific molecules regarding the template molecule used in the synthesis process of each type of MIP. As a result, they can be used in more effective and mor...

The process of matrix clean-up and extraction of analytes has a significant influence on the detection and determination of the analyte, especially in trace amounts. Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are solid particles that can absorb specific molecules regarding the template molecule used in the synthesis process of each type of MIP. As a result, they can be used in more effective and mor...

understanding of wheat root system is important in dryland conditions. root development, important factor in wheat production under water limiting conditions, can be affected by environmental factors especially nitrogen fertilizer. a field experiment was carried out to study the nitrogen rates and application times on root morphology of three rainfed wheat genotypes, using a split-splitplot bas...

Energy is an important component of poultry feed and is derived principally from cereal grains. Unfortunately, all of the chemical energy is not available to the bird, and biological assays must be used to determine the digestible energy value of a cereal grain. The bioassay described uses four pens of six male broiler chicks, complete diets containing 80% of a test cereal grain (with or withou...

During the period 2003–2005, spring and winter cereal grain samples were analysed for the presence of the mycotoxins deoxynivalenol (DON), zearalenone (ZEN), T-2 toxin, ochratoxin A and aflatoxin (total) by the ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) method at the Lithuanian Institute of Agriculture. Mycotoxin DON produced by the fungi of the genus Fusarium was found to be most frequent in Li...