Ozone technology to reduce zearalenone contamination in whole maize flour: degradation kinetics and impact on quality

Abstract

BACKGROUND Maize is one of the most important cereals. It is used for different purposes and in different industries worldwide. This cereal is prone to contamination with mycotoxins, such as zearalenone (ZEN), which is produced mainly by Fusarium graminearum, F. culmorum and F. equiseti. Toxin production under highly moist conditions (aw > 0.95) is exacerbated if there are alternations between low temperatures (12–14 °C) and high temperatures (25–28 °C). Even if good production practices are adopted, mycotoxins can be found in several stages of the production chain. For this reason, an alternative to reducing this contamination is ozonation. This study evaluated the reduction of ZEN in naturally contaminated whole maize flour (WMF) treated with 51.5 mg L−1 of ozone for up to 60 min. Pasting properties, peroxide value, and fatty acid composition were also evaluated. RESULTS Zearalenone degradation in ozonated WMF was described by a fractional first‐order kinetic, with a maximum reduction of 62.3% and kinetic parameter of 0.201 min−1 in the conditions that were evaluated. The ozonation process in WMF showed a decrease in the apparent viscosity, a decrease in the proportion of linoleic, oleic, and α‐linolenic fatty acids, an increase in the proportion of palmitic acid, and an increase in the peroxide value. CONCLUSION Ozonation was effective in reducing ZEN contamination in WMF. However, it also modified the pasting properties, fatty acid profile, and peroxide value, affecting functional and technological aspects of WMF. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry

Occurrence, Impact on Agriculture, Human Health, and Management Strategies of Zearalenone in Food and Feed: A Review

“…Ozone reduces the toxicity of ZEN by forming degradation ozonolytic products which are less toxic than the original mycotoxin [229]. The reaction rate constant and degradation rate of ZEN increased with ozone concentration and treatment time [228] and this ZEN degradation by ozone followed first-order kinetic [230]. A study by Rogowska et al [1] has suggested 83.9% ZEN degradation with the use of 10% hydrogen peroxide at 30 • C for 16 h. Su et al [23] have also suggested the potential ability of vitamin C to reduce the toxicity of ZEN in animal models.…”

Mycotoxins Biocontrol Methods for Healthier Crops and Stored Products

“…The exposure time to ozone is an important factor that determines the rate of mycotoxin degradation in grains [ 223 ]. The use of ozone (O 3 ) in the degradation of mycotoxins was reported in several papers [ 223 , 227 , 228 , 229 , 230 , 231 ]. It is successful in the degradation of AFB1 and AFG1.…”

Mycotoxins in Feed and Food and the Role of Ozone in Their Detoxification and Degradation: An Update

“…Ozonation is a simple technology, which does not leave harmful residues after application. The use of O 3 in the degradation of several mycotoxins has been reported in many papers [ 89 , 90 , 91 , 92 , 93 ]. Ozone is used as an oxidizing agent to disinfect cereals, vegetables, and fruits, or to detoxify mycotoxins [ 89 ].…”

“…As reported above, ozonation is a chemical mean for food/feed processing, that has been used on many kinds of products or intermediates. Most of the reviewed experiments (81%) were carried out on cereals, in particular wheat and corn, and their derivatives such as flour [ 90 , 91 , 121 , 128 , 131 , 132 ], malting [ 122 ], and co-products like pasta and semolina [ 92 ]. Another large percentage of studies (19%) was conducted on dried fruits/seeds (in particular peanuts and pistachios).…”