M. Rychlik et P. Schieberle, Model studies on the diffusion behavior of the mycotoxin patulin in apples, tomatoes, and wheat bread, EUR FOOD RE, 212(3), 2001, pp. 274-278
Quantitative studies on the diffusion behavior of the mycotoxin patulin (Pa
t) performed by stable isotope dilution assays using a carbon-13-labeled an
alogue as the internal standard revealed that Pat did not diffuse into appl
es affected by the fungus Penicillium expansum. At a distance of more than
2 cm from the infected zone the mycotoxin was not detectable. However, in a
similar experiment with tomatoes the mycotoxin was found to penetrate into
the whole fruit. These different characteristics were related to the physi
cal laws of diffusion and attributed to differences in the texture of the f
oods. Like in apple tissue, the patulin content in molded wheat bread crumb
fell sharply at a longer distance from the fungal mycelium. A comparison w
ith aflatoxins revealed that these mycotoxins show much faster diffusion in
to the crumb as compared to patulin.