Occurrence of Zearalenols (Diastereomeric Mixture) in Corn Stalk Rot and Their Production by Associated Fusarium Species

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Abstract
Zearalenol was extracted from Fusarium-infected stems of corn from southern Italy. The toxin, which appeared as a single compound in various thin-layer chromatography systems, was resolved by high-pressure liquid chromatography into two components. A gas chromatography-mass spectrometry examination of a purified fraction confirmed the natural occurrence of zearalenol as a diastereomeric mixture and led to the identification of alpha (56 ng/g) and beta (27 ng/g) isomers. Among nine Fusarium species found associated with stalk rot in corn, only Fusarium culmorum (F. roseum `Culmorum9) and F. equiseti (F. roseum `Gibbosum9) produced zearalenol and always produced it in a diastereomeric mixture of alpha and beta isomers.