Efficacy of Ozone Treatment on Mycotoxins and Fungal Reduction in Artificially Contaminated Soft Wheat Grains

Abstract

The effects of O 3 concentration, exposure time and grain mass were evaluated on the levels of deoxynivalenol, aflatoxins and total fungal count (TFC) in wheat grains, using a full 2 3 factorial design. Grain samples were contaminated with fungal conidia and spiked with mycotoxins standards and then submitted to ozonation treatments. The most significant reductions obtained for deoxynivalenol and total aflatoxins corresponded to 64.3 and 48.0%, respectively. TFC reduced approximately 3.0 cycles log cfu/g of wheat grain. O 3 concentration and exposure time influenced (P < 0.05) positively the reductions of both mycotoxins and TFC, while the grain mass had a negative effect on both responses. The most significant reduction in TFC and mycotoxin levels was achieved by using 60 mg/L of O 3 for 300 min, with 2 kg samples. Gaseous O 3 can be considered an excellent method for remediation of these contaminants. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSGaseous ozonation is an interesting nonthermal technology that can be applied to reduce fungal and mycotoxin contamination in wheat grains (Triticum aestivum L.). The O 3 concentration and exposure time positively influence reductions in mycotoxins and fungi count, while grain mass has a negative effect on both variables. Using 60 mg/L of O 3 at 300 min of exposure and 2 kg grain samples (11.3% moisture content) is possible to obtain reductions of 3.0 cycles log cfu/g in total fungal count, 64.3% in DON levels and 48.0% in total aflatoxin levels. Data found in this research should contribute in greater interest of ozonation by the food industry and consequently a wider popularization of ozonized products by consumers.

Ozonation of Adzuki beans (Vigna angularis): Effect on the hydration kinetics, phenolic compounds and antioxidant capacity

“…and Aspergillus spp. (Trombete et al, ) as well as mycotoxins, such as aflatoxin B 1 (Luo et al, ), zearalenone and deoxynivalenol (Santos Alexandre et al, ).…”

“…Therefore, under such conditions, it could be guaranteed the safety of the product through the inactivation of microorganisms, such as Escherichia coli, coliforms, molds, yeasts(Zorlugenç, Kiro glu Zorlugenç, Öztekin, & Evliya, 2008), Fusarium spp. and Aspergillus spp (Trombete et al, 2017). as well as mycotoxins, such as aflatoxin B 1(Luo et al, 2014), zearalenone and deoxynivalenol (SantosAlexandre et al, 2018).…”

The Fate of Mycotoxins During the Processing of Wheat for Human Consumption

“…Besides typical wheat processing procedures, some measures directly aim at mycotoxin decontamination of cereals. These include, for example, the application of superheated steam (Pronyk, Cenkowski, & Abramson, ), ozone (Li, Guan, & Bian, ; Wang et al., ; Alexandre, Castanha, Calori‐Domingues, & Augusto, ; Trombete et al., ), or ammonia (Chelkowski et al., , ), and the washing, soaking, or cooking of grain at elevated pH level (Trenholm, Charmley, Prelusky, & Warner, ; Ragab, Drusch, Schnieder, & Beyer, ). However, some reductions may be reversed during further processing as shown for wheat treated with sodium bisulfite (Young et al., ).…”

Occurrence and preventive strategies to control mycotoxins in cereal‐based food

“…Some reducing agent, such as sodium bisulfite and sodium hydroxide, has been shown to be effective for reducing AFB1 and AFB2 to certain levels (e.g., ∼50%) in contaminated corn and peppers ( Hagler, Hutchine, & Hamilton, 1982; Jalili, Jinap, & Son, 2011). Ozone is proved as an effective way to minimize DON and AFs in corn and wheat (Trombete et al., 2017; Young, 1986). Although chemical treatments are thought to be effective in removal of mycotoxin, it might negatively impact organoleptic property and nutritional quality of grains.…”