Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Journal of Stored Products Research, cilt.115, 2026 (SCI-Expanded)
Aflatoxin contamination in maize (Zea mays L.), caused by Aspergillus flavus, significantly affects both nutritional quality and food safety. This study examined the relationship between aflatoxin levels and key maize nutritional components such as moisture, starch, protein, neutral detergent fiber (NDF), ash, and crude fat. The analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics, ANOVA, principal component analysis (PCA), hierarchical clustering, and correlation analysis. Aflatoxin levels showed considerable variability, ranging from 11.3 ppb to 496 ppb, with a mean of 223.86 ppb and a standard deviation of 173.2. Moisture content ranged from 12.43 % to 29.27 %, with an average of 16.27 %. Starch levels had a mean of 67.42 % (SD = 2.5), and protein averaged 14.24 % (SD = 2.15). Ash and crude fat had mean values of 2.01 % and 3.12 %, respectively. ANOVA showed that moisture (p = 0.01), starch (p = 0.033), protein (p = 0.007), ash (p = 0.041) and crude fat (p = 0.029) significantly affected aflatoxin levels but NDF (p = 0.089) had no significant impact on aflatoxin levels. PCA identified two principal components, which explained 54.1 % of the total variance. PC1 (37 %) was strongly associated with moisture (0.72), starch (−0.68), NDF (0.57), and aflatoxin levels (0.71). PC2 (17.1 %) was influenced by protein (0.65), crude fat (−0.52), and ash (0.49). Hierarchical clustering grouped maize samples into four clusters, with high-aflatoxin samples showing higher moisture, lower starch, and increased NDF content. Aflatoxin levels were negatively correlated with starch (−0.58) and positively correlated with moisture (0.65) and NDF (0.52). These findings highlight the nutritional impacts of aflatoxin contamination, particularly on moisture retention, fiber increase, and carbohydrate reduction in maize, with statistical approaches offering deeper insights into how contamination alters grain properties.