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A comparative study of urinary mycotoxin biomarkers co-occurrence patterns and cumulative risk assessment in population from three typical areas in China

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology (2025)Cite this article

Abstract

Background

This biomonitoring study investigated levels of multi-mycotoxin biomarkers in the urine of subjects living in three different geographic locations and dietary patterns in China.

Objective

This study provides a comprehensive understanding of the inner-exposure characteristics to multiple mycotoxins within the Chinese population.

Methods

The study involved a total of 311 healthy volunteers, with 103 from Anhui Province, 102 from Henan Province, and 106 from Sichuan Province. UHPLC-MS/MS was employed to analyze seven mycotoxin biomarkers [total deoxynivalenol (DONt), β-zearalenol (β-ZEL), nivalenol (NIV), α-zearalenol (α-ZEL), diacetoxycyclohexenol (DAS), zearalenone (ZEN), aflatoxin M1 (AFM1)] in urine samples. Urinary biomarker concentrations were used to estimate probable daily intake (PDI), further calculate hazard quotient (HQ), and hazard index (HI).

Results

In the study population, DON was the most prevalent (100%) with a mean concentration of 90.77 ng/ml, followed by β-ZEL (27.97%), NIV (24.76%), α-ZEL (24.12%), DAS (12.86%), ZEN (6.11%) and AFM1 (10.96%) in urine samples. The mean PDI for DONt, ZENt and NIV in the total population were 3.02 µg/kg bw/d, 0.01 µg/kg bw/d and 0.79 µg/kg bw/d, respectively. There were 61.09% of the total population with an HQ > 1 for DONt, while 0.96% and 10.93% had an HQ > 1 for ZENt and NIV, respectively. Moreover, approximately 64.31% of urine samples exhibited the co-occurrence of two or more mycotoxins. The most common binary and ternary combinations were DONt-ZENt (46.34%) and DONt-ZENt-NIV (19.02%). The percentages of HI > 1 for DONt-ZENt and DONt-ZENt-NIV were 61.09% and 69.77% respectively.

Impact

In the present study, the co-occurrence pattern and cumulative risk of the metabolite biomarkers of multi-mycotoxins were firstly revealed in three typical areas with different climate types and dietary patterns. This study helps assess the health risks of mycotoxin exposure under different environmental and dietary conditions, reveals the relationship between diet and mycotoxin exposure, and provides scientific support for mitigating the harmful effects of mycotoxins on human health.

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Fig. 1: Co-occurrence patterns of urinary mycotoxin biomarkers among study participants.
Fig. 2: Probable daily intake (PDI) and hazard quotient (HQ) estimates for DONt, ZENt, and NIV based on urinary biomarkers.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Materials availability

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the staff of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Anhui, Henan, and Sichuan Provinces for their support of the field work in this study population.

Funding

This work was supported by the China Food Safety Talent Competency Development Initiative (CFSA 523 Program).

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Ying-Ying Zhou, Ming-Lu Li.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment, Beijing, China

    Ying-Ying Zhou, Ming-Lu Li, Xiao-Dan Wang, Hai-Bin Xu & Jiang Liang

  2. Beijing Centers for Disease Prevention and Control/Beijing Research Center for Prevention Medicine, Beijing Key Laboratory of Diagnostic and Traceability Technologies for Food Poisoning, Beijing, China

    Ying-Ying Zhou

  3. Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China

    Ming-Lu Li

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  1. Ying-Ying Zhou
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  2. Ming-Lu Li
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Contributions

The following authors have contributed substantially to the work reported. Conceptualization, JL; Methodology, ML and YZ; Software, ML; Validation, YZ; Formal Analysis, ML; Investigation, XW and JL; Resources, JL; Data Curation, XW; Writing-Original Draft Preparation, ML and YZ; Writing-Review & Editing, JL and YZ; Visualization, ML; Supervision, JL and XW; Funding Acquisition, JL and HX. All authors have approved the submitted version. All authors have agreed to be personally accountable for the author’s contributions and to ensure that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work, even ones in which the author was not personally involved, are appropriately investigated, resolved, and the resolution documented in the literature.

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Correspondence to Jiang Liang.

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Zhou, YY., Li, ML., Wang, XD. et al. A comparative study of urinary mycotoxin biomarkers co-occurrence patterns and cumulative risk assessment in population from three typical areas in China. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-025-00830-x

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