A new type of fumonisin series appeared on the scene of food and feed safety

Fumonisins were extracted from a rice culture which had been inoculated with Fusarium verticillioides isolated from maize stalk. The culture extracts were analysed by a hyphenated technique: reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization ion-trap mass spectrometry (RP-HPLC/ESI-IT MS2). Besides already known fumonisins, a new type of fumonisin series (PHFB(4)OSA belonging to the formerly described FBX) - containing four new compounds - was detected. At these compounds, one of the OH groups attached to the fumonisin backbone was esterified by carboxylic acid (oxalylsuccinic acid, OSA) other than tricarballylic acid (TCA). The masses of the protonated molecules and of the characteristic product ions and the characteristic neutral mass losses from the protonated molecules suggested their structure. The relative quantities of the new minor compounds were expressed as percentages of FB1 toxin.