Human aflatoxin exposure in Kenya, 2007: a cross-sectional study.

Aflatoxins contaminate approximately 25% of agricultural products worldwide. They can cause liver failure and liver cancer. Kenya has experienced multiple aflatoxicosis outbreaks in recent years, often resulting in fatalities. However, the full extent of aflatoxin exposure in Kenya has been unknown. Our objective was to quantify aflatoxin exposure across Kenya. We analysed aflatoxin levels in serum specimens from the 2007 Kenya AIDS Indicator Survey - a nationally representative, cross-sectional serosurvey. KAIS collected 15,853 blood specimens. Of the 3180 human immunodeficiency virus-negative specimens with ≥1 mL sera, we randomly selected 600 specimens stratified by province and sex. We analysed serum specimens for aflatoxin albumin adducts by using isotope dilution MS/MS to quantify aflatoxin B1-lysine, and normalised with serum albumin. Aflatoxin concentrations were then compared by demographic, socioeconomic and geographic characteristics. We detected serum aflatoxin B1-lysine in 78% of serum specimens (range =

Rapid quantitative determination of fat-soluble vitamins and coenzyme Q-10 in human serum by reversed phase ultra-high pressure liquid chromatography with UV detection.

We are presenting the first ultra-high pressure LC (UHPLC) method for rapid quantitative measurement of vitamin A, E (alpha- and gamma-tocopherol), beta-carotene and CoQ(10) from human serum. The chromatography was performed on Shield RP(18) UHPLC column with UV detection. The method was validated based on linearity, accuracy, matrix effects study, precision and stability. The calibration was linear over the following range: 0.09-10.0 for retinol and gamma-tocopherol, 0.05-5 for beta-carotene, 0.9-100 for alpha-tocopherol and 0.14-15 mg/L for CoQ(10). The limit of detection and quantitation for retinol, gamma-tocopherol, beta-carotene, alpha-tocopherol and CoQ(10) were as follows 0.07/0.024, 0.018/0.06, 0.004/0.12, 0.078/0.261, 0.008/0.028 mg/L. The recoveries were above 85%. The inter- and intra-assay precision was below 10%. Reference intervals were established for children and adults. Because of its low cost, extremely short analysis time (2 min) and excellent chromatographic reproducibility this UHPLC method can easily be adopted for high-throughput clinical and pharmacokinetics studies.