Comparative study on concentrations of deoxynivalenol and zearalenone in kernels of transgenic Bt maize hybrids and nontransgenic maize hybrids.

Ears from seven pairs of Bt maize hybrids / isogenic maize hybrids from field experiments in the year 1999 were collected arbitrarily and divided into corn borer (ECB) infested and not infested ears, respectively. The kernels were analysed for the mycotoxins deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZON).The percentage of infested ears was significantly lower in case of Bt maize (5%) as compared with non transgenic maize (31%). The study demonstrated further that the DON concentration in kernels of ECB infested ears of the non Bt maize hybrids was significantly higher than the DON concentration of the other groups. In the case of zearalenone, the same trend was observed. When the mean concentrations of the Bt and non-Bt hybrids, respectively, are considered, the lower contamination of Bt maize hybrids with DON and ZON, compared with their isogenic counterparts, is even more evident.