Following our previous studies, the comparative study on the natural occurrence of mycotoxins in staple foods from the high- and low-risk areas for human esophageal cancer (HEC) in China was carried out. A total of 54 corn and 40 wheat samples intended for human consumption were collected from Linxian and Shangqiu Counties in Henan Province, high- and low-risk areas of HEC, respectively, and analyzed for fumonisins (FMs), trichothecenes (TRICs) and zearalenone (ZEA). Incidences of TRICs and ZEA in corn samples from the high-risk area were 3.7 and 11 times higher, respectively, than those in corn from the low-risk area. The levels of deoxynivalenol (DON), 15-acetyl-DON, nivalenol (NIV) and ZEA in corn, as well as those of DON and NIV in wheat, were all significantly higher in the high-risk area than those in the low-risk area. The high positive rate (79%) of FMs in corn from the high-risk area was found as compared with that (50%) in corn from the low-risk area, although no significant difference of FM levels was observed between the two areas. The results confirmed our previous reports : the contamination levels of TRICs and ZEA were positively correlated with the incidence of HEC, but FM levels were insignificantly different between the two areas.
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Gao et al. (1997) studied this question.