Simple liquid chromatography assay for analyzing ochratoxin A in bovine milk

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a mycotoxin with teratogenic and carcinogenic properties. Animal intake of feedstuffs contaminated with OTA may cause that some residues may be found in bovine milk, therefore, its analysis requires a highly sensitive, simple and precise technique. This method is based on a liquid-liquid extraction with methanol, followed by filtration and extract concentration. Liquid chromatography coupled to fluorescence detection was used for OTA analysis. In this way, several impurities are filtered off and OTA is quantified with a mean recovery of 93.0 +/- 7.4% and a limit of detection of 0.01 ng mL(-1). Therefore, this methodology allows a simple quantitative extraction of OTA from bovine milk. (C) 2007 Published by Elsevier Ltd.