Yoshio Sakabe

Effect of roasting on ochratoxin A level in green coffee beans inoculated with Aspergillus ochraceus

The heat stability of ochratoxin A in green coffee beans inoculated with Aspergillus ochraceus was studied. Heat treatment (roasting) at 200 °C for 10 or 20 min reduced the levels of ochratoxin A by only 0–12% in the dried whole beans. Almost all of the ochratoxin A was infused into the coffee decoction when the roasted samples were ground and extracted with boiling water. Therefore, the reduction of ochratoxin A concentration of contaminated coffee beans by roasting under these conditions is ineffective.

Studies on the analysis of food additives by high-performance liquid chromatography. V. Simultaneous determination of preservatives and saccharin in foods by ion-pair chromatography.

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the simultaneous determination of sorbic acid, benzoic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid and its methyl, ethyl, isopropyl, n-propyl, isobutyl, n-butyl esters and saccharin in foodstuffs is described. For good separations of these compounds, acetonitrile-water-0.2 M phosphate buffer pH 3.6 (7:12:1) containing 2 mM cetyltrimethylammonium bromide as an ion-pair reagent and a Nucleosil 5C18 column are required. A steam distillation method and a Sep-Pak C18 cartridge method for the sample preparation are compared. The recoveries from a coffee drink were generally better than 93.8% and the relative standard deviations were 0.85-2.15% for the Sep-Pak C18 cartridge method.

Caffeine degradation and increased ochratoxin A production by toxigenic strains of Aspergillus ochraceus isolated from green coffee beans.

The growth and ochratoxin A production of Aspergillus ochraceus strains S-235-100 and IFM 0458, which were isolated from green coffee beans and glutinous rice, respectively, were examined in yeast extract-sucrose (YES) medium containing 0.1 to 1.0% caffeine. The mycelial growth and ochratoxin A formation of strain IFM 0458 was inhibited by caffeine at concentrations over 0.1%, and ochratoxin A was not produced at caffeine levels of 0.5% and 1.0%. Contrary to this, A. ochraceus strain S-235-100 produced a larger amount of ochratoxin A in the presence of 0.5% and 1.0% caffeine when grown on YES medium, reaching a maximum after 15 to 20 days of incubation.The formation of ochratoxin A by nine additional strains of A. ochraceus, three strains of A. elegans and one strain of A. sclerotiorum isolated from green coffee beans was determined on rice and ground green coffee media. A significant degree of degradation of caffeine in the green coffee medium was demonstrated with cultures of nine A. ochraceus isolates from green coffee beans. Most of these isolates showed the potential to grow on moist green coffee beans and to produce a significant amount of ochratoxins.