In the present study, high titred polyclonal antibodies were produced against synthetic AFB1-lys and developed a simple indirect competitive (IC)-ELISA for quantitative estimation of AFB1-lys adducts in human serum albumin. IC-ELISA was validated by testing 250 blood samples that include 85 HBV positive samples from unidentified subjects from the Apollo Health City, Hyderabad, and 165 blood samples collected from ICRISAT campus, Hyderabad, India. All the samples that were positive to AFB1-lys were from HBV-positive subjects, indicating a potential risk of hepatocellular carcinoma in 4.8% of the subjects tested in the present study. This validation confirms the suitability of IC-ELISA, which is simple, cost-effective and enables high-throughput analysis.

Aflatoxin; Food Security

Aflatoxins; Toxin Contamination; Fungal Infestation; Aflatoxin Exposure

Current Science