Production of beauvericin byFusarium proliferatum from maize in Italy.

Beauvericin (BEA), a toxic cyclodepsipeptide, was purified from corn kernel cultures of a toxigenic strain ofFusarium proliferatum, Isolated from corn ear rot in northern Italy (45 mg/kg dry culture). The strain, designed ITEM-1503, also produced fumonisin B, (2,250 mg/kg dry culture), and moniliformin (150 mg/kg dry culture). Thin-layer chromatography, high-performance thin layer chromatography, high-performance liquid chromatography, low-resolution electronic impact mass spectrometry and 1H, 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy were used for BEA Isolation and confirmation. This is the first report on the production of BEA byF. proliferatum.