Concentrations of ergosterol and trichothecenes in the grains of three Triticum species

Abstract

The concentrations of ergosterol, type A trichothecenes (HT-2 toxin, T-2 tetraol and scirpentriol), and type B trichothecenes (deoxynivalenol, 3-acetyldeoxynivalenol, 15-acetyldeoxynivalenol, nivalenol, fusarenone X) were determined in the grains of three wheat winter cultivars of Triticum aestivum, T. spelta, and T. durum. The highest concentrations of ergosterol (3.3 × 104 μg/kg) and deoxynivalenol (654.67 μg/kg) were noted in the grain of T. durum. Ergosterol concentrations did not decrease following the fungicide application. The results of the principal component analysis showed that the quantitative and qualitative profiles of toxic metabolites in T. durum differed significantly from those obtained for the remaining two wheat species. A strong correlation between the concentrations of ergosterol and deoxynivalenol (r = 0.920) indicated the predominance of pathogenic fungi of the genus Fusarium in wheat grain.

Keywords

• ergosterol
• principal component analysis
• trichothecenes
• triticum aestivum
• triticum durum
• triticum spelta