Development of an Analytical Method for Simultaneous Determination of the Modified Forms of 4,15-Diacetoxyscirpenol and their Occurrence in Japanese Retail Food

4,15-Diacetoxyscirpenol (4,15-DAS) is a type A trichothecene mycotoxin produced by Fusarium species. Four modified forms of 4,15-DAS including 7-hydroxydiacetoxyscirpenol, 7,8-dihydroxydiacetoxyscirpenol, 4β,8α,15-triacetoxy-3α,7α-dihydroxy-12,13-epoxytrichothec-9-ene and 4,15-diacetylnivalenol were purified from cultures of F. equiseti. An analytical method using a multifunctional column has been developed for the simultaneous determination of 4,15-DAS, its four modified forms, T-2 toxin, HT-2 toxin and neosolaniol in cereals. The performance of the current method was evaluated, and a total of 248 samples of five different commodities were analyzed for over two years by this method. 4,15-DAS was detected in Job’s tears products, corn flour and azuki bean, but it was not found in wheat flour or rye flour. The four modified forms of 4,15-DAS were detected in samples of Job’s tears products, contaminated by 4,15-DAS. This is the first report on quantification of the modified forms of 4,15-DAS in cereals.