Mol. Nutr. Food Res. 2013, 00, 1–11 1 DOI 10.1002/mnfr.201300481 RESEARCH ARTICLE Urinary fumonisin B 1 and estimated fumonisin intake in women from high- and low-exposure communities in Guatemala Olga Torres 1 , Jorge Matute 1 , Janee Gelineau-van Waes 2 , Joyce R. Maddox 2 , Simon G. Gregory 3 , Allison E. Ashley-Koch 3 , Jency L. Showker 4 , Nicholas C. Zitomer 4 , Kenneth A. Voss 4 and Ronald T. Riley 4 1 Centro de Investigaciones en Nutrici ´ on y Salud, Guatemala City, Guatemala 2 Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, USA 3 Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA 4 USDA – ARS, Toxicology and Mycotoxin Research Unit, R.B. Russell Research Center, Athens, GA, USA Scope: Fumonisin (FB) intake can be high when maize is a dietary staple. We determined (i) urinary FB (UFB) in women consuming maize in high- and low-exposure communities in Guatemala, (ii) the FB levels in maize, (iii) the relationship between UFB and FB intake, and (iv) the relative excretion of UFB 1 , UFB 2 , and UFB 3 . Methods and results: Urine and maize were analyzed for FB for 1 year in three departments. Maize consumption was estimated by an interview questionnaire. Fumonisin B 1 ,B 2 , and B 3 (FB 1 , FB 2 and FB 3 ), were detected in 100% of maize samples. FB 1 in maize and urine was significantly higher in Jutiapa compared to Chimaltenango or Escuintla. The FB intake paralleled UFB 1 in a dose-dependent manner but UFB 1 was present in much higher levels than UFB 2 or UFB 3 compared to maize. Conclusion: In Jutiapa, agroecological conditions favored FB production. UFB 1 mirrored the estimated FB intake. UFB 1 > 0.1 ng/mL resulted in a dose-dependent increase in the risk of exceeding FB intake of 2 g/kg b.w./day compared to women with no detectable UFB 1 . More than 50% exceeded 2 g/kg b.w./day when UFB 1 was >0.5 ng/mL. UFB 2 and UFB 3 were rarely detected confirming that FB 1 is either absorbed better or preferentially excreted in urine. Keywords: Estimated fumonisin intake / Fumonisin / Fusarium verticillioides / Maize consump- tion / Urinary fumonisin B 1 Received: July 3, 2013 Revised: October 27, 2013 Accepted: October 28, 2013  Additional supporting information may be found in the online version of this article at the publisher’s web-site 1 Introduction Fusarium verticillioides is a fungal pathogen of maize that produces fumonisins (FBs) that are potent inhibitors of ceramide synthases [1], key enzymes in the biosynthesis of Correspondence: Dr. Ronald T. Riley, USDA-ARS, Toxicology and Mycotoxin Research Unit, R.B. Russell Research Center, 950 Col- lege Station Road, Athens, GA 30605, USA E-mail: ron.riley@ars.usda.gov Fax: +1-706-546-3116 Abbreviations: FB, fumonisin; FB 1 , fumonisin B 1 ; FB 2 , fumonisin B 2 ; FB 3 , fumonisin B 3 ; JECFA, Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives; PMTDI, provisional maximum tolerable daily intake; UFB, urinary fumonisin sphingolipids. The most common FB in maize-based foods are fumonisin B 1 ,B 2 , and B 3 (FB 1 , FB 2 , and FB 3 , respec- tively). FB are known causes of animal disease via disruption of sphingolipid metabolism [2] but definitive evidence for FB inhibition of ceramide synthase in humans or FB as a cause of any human disease has not yet been shown [3]. Nonetheless, it has been hypothesized that in areas of the world where maize is consumed in large amounts and where FB contamination is likely, FB could be a contributing factor to the high incidence of neural tube defects (NTD) in humans [4]. FB has also been implicated in human carcinogenesis (reviewed in [5]) and stunting in children [6]. Where maize is a dietary staple, the probable daily intake of FB shows that many maize consumers will exceed the provisional maximum C  2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim www.mnf-journal.com