Macedonian pharmaceutical bulletin, 65 (2) 49 - 55 (2019) ISSN: UDC: 637.12.065:582.282.123.4(497.721)”2019” DOI: 10.33320/maced.pharm.bull.2019.65.02.006 Original scientific paper A survey of AFM 1 contamination in row cow milk produced in region of Kumanovo Iva Furunovikj-Dimitrijevski 1* , Suzana Angelova 2 , Kristina Shutevska 3 , Tatjana Kadifkova Panovska 3 1 PZU Apteka Ilinden, Done Bozinov 18, 1300 Kumanovo, Republic of North Macedonia 2 PHI Center for Public Health Kumanovo, October 11 th b.b, 1300 Kumanovo, Republic of North Macedonia 3 Institute of Applied Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, Mother Theresa 47, 1000 Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia Received: September 2019; Accepted: October 2019 Abstract Aflatoxins (AFs) are type of mycotoxins produced by certain Aspergillus species. In the livers of cows, the aflatoxin В 1 (AFB 1 ) ingested with contaminated food is metabolized in carcinogenic aflatoxin М 1 (AFM 1 ) which is then excreted in the milk and poses a serious risk to the health of the consumers. In January of 2019, twenty five (25) samples of milk were collected from local farms in the surrounding area of Kumanovo, Republic of North Macedonia. The samples were analysed in the Centre for Public Health, Kumanovo. A method MKC EN ISO 14501:2007 for analysis of AFM 1 by HPLC with fluorescence detection was applied. This method is selective, precise and applicative. The final analytical result has shown AFM 1 below the LOD in any of the analyzed samples. Due to the well- known fact that AFM 1 is toxic, i.e. carcinogenic and the fact that milk is widely used as staple food, continuous development as well as introduction of new, more sensitive methods for detection of AFM 1 are required. Keywords: Aflatoxin M 1 , HPLC-FLD, milk Introduction Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites of certain fungi that can be found as contaminants in food and animal feed. Aflatoxins (AFs) are a type of mycotoxins. They are the main secondary metabolites of certain Aspergillus species, such as Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus parasiticus and rarely Aspergillus nomius (Bennett and Klich, 2003). There are four types of AFs: B 1 , B 2 , G 1 and G 2 , of which AFB 1 is the most toxic and carcinogenic one (Gourama and Bullerman, 1995). When cows ingest animal feed contaminated with AFB 1 , 4- hydroxy derivative of AFB 1 (AFBM 1 ) is produced in the liver via CYP450 enzymes which is then eliminated through milk (Kuilman et al., 2000). Many researchers have proven that AFBM 1 is less toxic and carcinogenic than AFB 1 (Hsieh et al., 1984). Due to this, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) reclassified it in Group 2B (possibly carcinogenic to humans) hepatic carcinogens (IARC Monographs Vol. 82, 2002). The aflatoxin М 1 is relatively stable during the process of pasteurization, preparation and storage of dairy products. The presence of AFВM 1 in milk poses a serious __________________ * ivafurunovik@hotmail.com