Total Fumonisins Are Reduced in Tortillas Using the Traditional Nixtamalization Method of Mayan Communities

Abstract

Fumonisin B1 (FB1) is a maize mycotoxin. In tortilla preparation, maize is treated with lime (nixtamalization), producing hydrolyzed FB1 (HFB1) due to loss of the tricarballylic acid side chains. This study determined the following: 1) whether nixtamalization by Mayan communities reduces total fumonisins, and 2) the steps in the process at which reduction occurs. Tortillas prepared by the traditional process contained FB1, FB2 and FB3 and their hydrolyzed counterparts. There were equimolar amounts of FB1 and HFB1 in the tortillas, but the total fumonisins were reduced 50%. The total FB1 plus HFB1 in the residual lime water and water washes of the nixtamal accounted for 50% of the total FB1 in the uncooked maize. HFB1 and FB1 were present in a 1:1 mol/L ratio in the water washes of the nixtamal, the masa dough and the cooked tortillas, whereas the ratio of HFB1:FB1 in lime water after steeping was 21. Water washes contained 11% of the FB1 that was in the uncooked maize. The results show that the traditional method reduced the total fumonisins in tortillas and reduced the sphinganine elevation (a biomarker closely correlated with fumonisin toxicity) in cells treated with extracts of tortillas compared with cells treated with extracts of contaminated maize.

Association between Tortilla Consumption and Human Urinary Fumonisin B1 Levels in a Mexican Population

“…As only spot urines were available, we measured urinary creatinine to adjust for expected variations in urinary volume and FB1 levels were still strongly correlated with maize consumption when expressed in this way. In addition, we measured only FB1 in this study, although the tortillas are likely to also contain FB2 and FB3 as well as the hydrolyzed forms of FB1, FB2, and FB3 following the process of nixtamalization (33). Future consideration of other urinary fumonisins would be of value both in terms of exposure assessment but also to explore the absorption of different fumonisins in exposed people.…”

Effects of thermal food processing on the chemical structure and toxicity of fumonisin mycotoxins

“…Others found that the traditional nixtamalization method (ca. 400 g corn, 0.2 L lime solution (82 g CaO/L), 1.1 L water, 1008C, 105 min) used by the Mayan communities in Guatamala reduced total fumonisins (FB 1 and HFB 1 ) by 50% [94] and that the residual lime and washing water also contained 50% of the fumonisins initially present in the corn.…”

Occurrence of fumonisins B1 and B2 in broa, typical Portuguese maize bread

“…Conversely, there are several studies on the FBs content in other traditional foods, such as tortillas, and polenta, typical maize-based products from Mexico and northern Italy, respectively (Stack, 1998;Dombrink-Kurtzman and Dvorak, 1999;De La Campa et al, 2004;Palencia et al, 2003).…”