Wheat bran is an important source for human and animal feed. Its nutritional aspects include a high content of fibre and minerals, as well as phenolic compounds that help prevent chronic diseases. However, wheat can be susceptible to contamination by fungus, which can produce mycotoxins such as deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZEN), causing adverse health effects. Therefore, methods should be developed to reduce possible contamination. Ozone can be used for this purpose as it is considered safe and environmental friendly. The aim of this study was to evaluate the reduction of DON and ZEN concentrations in wheat bran using the ozonation process as well as to evaluate the effect of ozonation on the nutritional quality of bran. Considering this, wheat bran naturally contaminated with both DON and ZEN was processed using ozone at different conditions. The nutritional quality of the bran was evaluated after processing considering the following aspects: the total phenolic content and the bran antioxidant capacity (by using both DPPH and ABTS radicals). The results showed that the degradation of ZEN was higher and faster than the degradation of DON, which could be explained by their molecular structures. The total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity of the bran were not affected by the ozonation process, which is preferable from a nutritional point of view. Therefore, ozonation was demonstrated to be a possible method for reducing mycotoxins in wheat bran, although more studies are needed in order to better understand and optimise processing and product quality.
The objective of this study was to evaluate the reduction on the levels of the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) in whole wheat flour (WWF) with different moisture levels, on the wet milling effluent through ozone (O) processing, as well as the impact of ozonation on the rheological properties of flour. The results have shown that the reduction of DON was improved with increasing moisture and exposure time of WWF and wet milling effluent to ozone. The maximum reduction was about 80%, proving that ozonation is an effective and promising technology in reducing mycotoxins in different products. However, the process altered the rheological profile of WWF. Therefore, further studies are needed to better understand the process.
Ozone is used in grains to guarantee mycotoxin degradation, microbial inactivation, and insect disinfestation. However, its oxidizing properties can promote changes in the grain constituents, affecting both product properties and process behavior. Even so, the effect of ozone processing on quality properties of grains and their process, was rarely studied. Consequently, this work studied the impact of ozonation processing on the hydration kinetics and selected nutritional properties of Adzuki beans (Vigna angularis). As the ozone reactiveness increases at high moistures, three different levels of grain moisture were evaluated. The bean nutritional quality was evaluated considering the total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity (both radicals ABTS and DPPH). The results showed that there was neither significant difference in the hydration kinetics nor in the phenolic compounds and antioxidant capacity after the processing with ozone. Consequently, ozonation is proposed as an alternative in the control of grain contaminants without affecting its quality.
Practical applications
Grains are important raw materials worldwide, since they are used as food, feed or for extracting different components. Ozone, a safe and green technology, is used for microorganism inactivation and insect disinfestation, as well as for mycotoxins degradation in grains. However, although ozone can be used to guarantee safety, its oxidizing properties can promote changes in the grain constituents. These changes can negatively impact the nutritional properties, as well as alter the grain behaviour during processing. However, these evaluations are rarely carried out, questioning the ozone practical application. Therefore, the present work was developed to conduct this evaluation. It was demonstrated that the ozone processing did not alter neither the grain hydration kinetics nor the phenolic compounds and antioxidant capacity. Consequently, ozonation is proposed as a viable alternative in grain processing.
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