Fetal exposure to aflatoxins in the United Arab Emirates

This is a prospective study in which aflatoxin levels were measured in umbilical cord blood from 201 women delivered consecutively in Tawam and Al Ain hospitals in order to determine whether the fetuses had been significantly exposed to the toxin. Aflatoxin B₁, M₁ and M₂ were measured using high performance liquid chromatography. Aflatoxins were detected in 110 (54.7%) samples, 27 of which were positive for B₁, 106 for M₁ and 31 for M₂. There was a significant negative correlation (p < 0.001) between birthweight and levels of aflatoxin. The high rate of detection of aflatoxins confirms that a significant number of infants in the UAE are exposed to these toxins which reflects maternal ingestion of aflatoxin-containing food. The presence of aflatoxin resulted in lower birthweights.