Novel occurrence of cyclopiazonic acid in sunflower seeds.

Cyclopiazonic acid (CPA), a secondary metabolite produced by several species of Aspergillus and Penicillium, was detected in moldy sunflower seed screenings fed to sows who experienced conception problems and feed refusal. Tandem mass spectrometry confirmed the CPA which was estimated by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) to be present at 10 ppm. A Penicillium species was isolated from the moldy seeds, but in culture it did not produce CPA.