AFLATOXINS IN HULL AND MEATS OF COTTONSEED

We have found that when aflatoxins are a contaminant of cottonseed, they may be distributed both in the hulls and in the meats. The concentrations in hulls and meats do not appear to be correlated. Aflatoxins were found in hulls and not in meats of some seed samples, and the reverse situation also was observed. The amounts of toxins were generally much greater in meats, which contained up to 10,200 ppb, than in hulls, which contained up to 390 ppb aflatoxins. Hulls as well as meats from Aspergillus flavus-damaged seed represent a potential source of aflatoxin contamination, and both should be analyzed in order to accurately assess the total aflatoxins in seeds. © 1968 American Oil Chemists' Society.