Effect of ozone treatment on deoxynivalenol and quality evaluation of ozonised wheat

Nutrition strategies to control post-weaning diarrhea of piglets: From the perspective of feeds

Post-weaning diarrhea (PWD) is a globally significant threat to the swine industry. Historically, antibiotics as well as high doses of zinc oxide and copper sulfate have been commonly used to control PWD. However, the development of bacterial resistance and environmental pollution have created an interest in alternative strategies. In recent years, the research surrounding these alternative strategies and the mechanisms of piglet diarrhea has been continually updated. Mechanically, diarrhea in piglets is a result of an imbalance in intestinal fluid and electrolyte absorption and secretion. In general, enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) and diarrheal viruses are known to cause an imbalance in the absorption and secretion of intestinal fluids and electrolytes in piglets, resulting in diarrhea when Cl- secretion-driven fluid secretion surpasses absorptive capacity. From a perspective of feedstuffs, factors that contribute to imbalances in fluid absorption and secretion in the intestines of weaned piglets include high levels of crude protein (CP), stimulation by certain antigenic proteins, high acid-binding capacity (ABC), and contamination with deoxynivalenol (DON) in the diet. In response, efforts to reduce CP levels in diets, select feedstuffs with lower ABC values, and process feedstuffs using physical, chemical, and biological approaches are important strategies for alleviating PWD in piglets. Additionally, the diet supplementation with additives such as vitamins and natural products can also play a role in reducing the diarrhea incidence in weaned piglets. Here, we examine the mechanisms of absorption and secretion of intestinal fluids and electrolytes in piglets, summarize nutritional strategies to control PWD in piglets from the perspective of feeds, and provide new insights towards future research directions.

In Vitro Assessment of Ozone-Treated Deoxynivalenol by Measuring Cytotoxicity and Wheat Quality

Deoxynivalenol (DON), a trichothecene mycotoxin, could lead to cytotoxicity in both animal bodies and plant seed cells. Ozone degradation technology has been applied to DON control. However, the safety and quality of the contaminated grain after DON degradation are largely obscured. In this work, we evaluated the cytotoxicity of ozone-treated DON through seed germination experiments and cytotoxicity tests. Cell experiments showed that the inhibition rate of HepG2 viability gradually increased within the concentrations of 1-10 mg/L of DON, alongside which an IC50 (half maximal inhibitory concentration) of 9.1 mg/L was determined. In contrast, degrading DON had no significant inhibitory effect on cell growth. Moreover, a 1-10 mg/L concentration of DON increased production of a large amount of reactive oxygen radicals in HepG2, with obvious fluorescence color development. However, fluorescence intensity decreased after DON degradation. Further, DON at a concentration of >1 mg/L significantly inhibited the germination of mung bean seeds, whereas no significant inhibition of their germination or growth were observed if DON degraded. Changes in total protein content, fatty acid value, and starch content were insignificant in wheat samples suffering ozone degradation, compared to the untreated group. Lastly, the ozone-treated wheat samples exhibited higher tenacity and whiteness. Together, our study indicated that the toxicity of DON-contaminated wheat was significantly reduced after ozone degradation.

Interactions among the composition changes in fungal communities and the main mycotoxins in simulated stored wheat grains

BACKGROUND

There are significant food safety risks associated with wheat spoilage due to fungal growth and mycotoxin contamination. Nevertheless, a few studies have examined how stored wheat grain microbial communities and mycotoxins vary in different storage conditions. In this study, changes in deoxynivalenol (DON) and deoxynivalenol-3-glucoside (D3G) content were measured with ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS), and an amplicon sequence analysis of fungi was performed on stored wheat grains from different storage conditions using high-throughput sequencing. The detailed interactions among the composition changes in the fungal community and the DON content of simulated stored wheat grains were also analyzed.

RESULTS

Alternaria, Fusarium, Mrakia, and Aspergillus were the core fungal taxa, and the fungal communities of samples stored under different conditions were observed to be different. Aspergillus relative abundances increased, whereas Fusarium decreased. This led to an increase in the content of DON. The content of DON increased about 67% with 12% moisture and at 25 °C after 2 months of storage, which was influenced by the stress response of Fusarium. Correlations in fungal and mycotoxins changes were observed. There may be potential value in these findings for developing control strategies to prevent mildew infestations and mycotoxins contamination during grain storage.

CONCLUSION

In storage, the more the fungal community composition and the relative abundance of Fusarium change, the more mycotoxins will be produced. We should therefore reduce competition between fungal communities through pre-storage treatment and through measures during storage. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Recalling the reported toxicity assessment of deoxynivalenol, mitigating strategies and its toxicity mechanisms: Comprehensive review

Mycotoxins frequently contaminate a variety of food items, posing significant concerns for both food safety and public health. The adverse consequences linked to poisoning from these substances encompass symptoms such as vomiting, loss of appetite, diarrhea, the potential for cancer development, impairments to the immune system, disruptions in neuroendocrine function, genetic damage, and, in severe cases, fatality. The deoxynivalenol (DON) raises significant concerns for both food safety and human health, particularly due to its potential harm to vital organs in the body. It is one of the most prevalent fungal contaminants found in edible items used by humans and animals globally. The presence of harmful mycotoxins, including DON, in food has caused widespread worry. Altered versions of DON have arisen as possible risks to the environment and well-being, as they exhibit a greater propensity to revert back to the original mycotoxins. This can result in the buildup of mycotoxins in both animals and humans, underscoring the pressing requirement for additional investigation into the adverse consequences of these modified mycotoxins. Furthermore, due to the lack of sufficient safety data, accurately evaluating the risk posed by modified mycotoxins remains challenging. Our review study delves into conjugated forms of DON, exploring its structure, toxicity, control strategies, and a novel animal model for assessing its toxicity. Various toxicities, such as acute, sub-acute, chronic, and cellular, are proposed as potential mechanisms contributing to the toxicity of conjugated forms of DON. Additionally, the study offers an overview of DON's toxicity mechanisms and discusses its widespread presence worldwide. A thorough exploration of the health risk evaluation associated with conjugated form of DON is also provided in this discussion.

A comparative review on methods of detection and quantification of mycotoxins in solid food and feed: a focus on cereals and nuts

Many emerging factors and circumstances urge the need to develop and optimize the detection and quantification techniques of mycotoxins in solid food and feed. The diversity of mycotoxins, which have different properties and affinities, makes the standardization of the analytical procedures and the adoption of a single protocol that covers the attributes of all mycotoxins a tedious or even an impossible mission. Several modifications and improvements have been undergone in order to optimize the performance of these methods including the extraction solvents, the extraction methods, the clean-up procedures, and the analytical techniques. The techniques range from the rapid screening methods, which lack sensitivity and specificity such as TLC, to a spectrum of more advanced protocols, namely, ELISA, HPLC, and GC-MS and LC-MS/MS. This review aims at assessing the current studies related to these analytical techniques of mycotoxins in solid food and feed. It discusses and evaluates, through a critical approach, various sample treatment techniques, and provides an in-depth examination of different mycotoxin detection methods. Furthermore, it includes a comparison of their actual accuracy and a thorough analysis of the observed benefits and drawbacks.

Evaluation of Hydrothermal Treatment of Winter Wheat Grain with Ozonated Water

Products must be cleaned or otherwise treated to keep them clean when they are prepared for further production or when they are supplied fresh to the consumer. Cereals have significantly lower settling losses than succulent agricultural products, but the risks that can arise from their hydrothermal treatment before milling-where the cereals are moistened and left to rest for 14 h (temperature 30 °C)-are often underestimated. This operation creates a favourable environment for the development of micro-organisms, which, if not destroyed, can continue throughout the processing stages and be passed on to the consumer. This study investigated the qualitative characteristics of winter wheat hydrothermally treated with ozonated water at a concentration of 1.51 ± 0.1 mg L-1, such as the amount of mould in the grains and flour, as well as the grain protein, moisture, gluten, sedimentation, starch and weight per hectolitre. For the assessment of these parameters, the account was taken of the State standard, which provides the grain class and the type of grain. The reduction in mould fungi after the treatment of the winter wheat grain with ozonated water ranged between 440 and 950 CFU g-1. The results of the microbiological analysis showed that the ozone treatment improved the mycological safety of the flour samples made from the grain from an average of 390 ± 110 CFU g-1 to 29 ± 12 CFU g-1. On the other hand, the treatment of kernels with ozonated water did not significantly affect the basic composition of the winter wheat grains.

Deoxynivalenol in food and feed: Recent advances in decontamination strategies

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is a mycotoxin that contaminates animal feed and crops around the world. DON not only causes significant economic losses, but can also lead diarrhea, vomiting, and gastroenteritis in humans and farm animals. Thus, there is an urgent need to find efficient approaches for DON decontamination in feed and food. However, physical and chemical treatment of DON may affect the nutrients, safety, and palatability of food. By contrast, biological detoxification methods based on microbial strains or enzymes have the advantages of high specificity, efficiency, and no secondary pollution. In this review, we comprehensively summarize the recently developed strategies for DON detoxification and classify their mechanisms. In addition, we identify remaining challenges in DON biodegradation and suggest research directions to address them. In the future, an in-depth understanding of the specific mechanisms through which DON is detoxified will provide an efficient, safe, and economical means for the removal of toxins from food and feed.

Single, Subsequent, or Simultaneous Treatments to Mitigate Mycotoxins in Solid Foods and Feeds: A Critical Review

Mycotoxins in solid foods and feeds jeopardize the public health of humans and animals and cause food security issues. The inefficacy of most preventive measures to control the production of fungi in foods and feeds during the pre-harvest and post-harvest stages incited interest in the mitigation of these mycotoxins that can be conducted by the application of various chemical, physical, and/or biological treatments. These treatments are implemented separately or through a combination of two or more treatments simultaneously or subsequently. The reduction rates of the methods differ greatly, as do their effect on the organoleptic attributes, nutritional quality, and the environment. This critical review aims at summarizing the latest studies related to the mitigation of mycotoxins in solid foods and feeds. It discusses and evaluates the single and combined mycotoxin reduction treatments, compares their efficiency, elaborates on their advantages and disadvantages, and sheds light on the treated foods or feeds, as well as on their environmental impact.

Biscuit Contaminants, Their Sources and Mitigation Strategies: A Review

The scientific literature is rich in investigations on the presence of various contaminants in biscuits, and of articles aimed at proposing innovative solutions for their control and prevention. However, the relevant information remains fragmented. Therefore, the objective of this work was to review the current state of the scientific literature on the possible contaminants of biscuits, considering physical, chemical, and biological hazards, and making a critical analysis of the solutions to reduce such contaminations. The raw materials are primary contributors of a wide series of contaminants. The successive processing steps and machinery must be monitored as well, because if they cannot improve the initial safety condition, they could worsen it. The most effective mitigation strategies involve product reformulation, and the use of alternative baking technologies to minimize the thermal load. Low oxygen permeable packaging materials (avoiding direct contact with recycled ones), and reformulation are effective for limiting the increase of contaminations during biscuit storage. Continuous monitoring of raw materials, intermediates, finished products, and processing conditions are therefore essential not only to meet current regulatory restrictions but also to achieve the aim of banning dietary contaminants and coping with related diseases.

Key Global Actions for Mycotoxin Management in Wheat and Other Small Grains

Mycotoxins in small grains are a significant and long-standing problem. These contaminants may be produced by members of several fungal genera, including Alternaria, Aspergillus, Fusarium, Claviceps, and Penicillium. Interventions that limit contamination can be made both pre-harvest and post-harvest. Many problems and strategies to control them and the toxins they produce are similar regardless of the location at which they are employed, while others are more common in some areas than in others. Increased knowledge of host-plant resistance, better agronomic methods, improved fungicide management, and better storage strategies all have application on a global basis. We summarize the major pre- and post-harvest control strategies currently in use. In the area of pre-harvest, these include resistant host lines, fungicides and their application guided by epidemiological models, and multiple cultural practices. In the area of post-harvest, drying, storage, cleaning and sorting, and some end-product processes were the most important at the global level. We also employed the Nominal Group discussion technique to identify and prioritize potential steps forward and to reduce problems associated with human and animal consumption of these grains. Identifying existing and potentially novel mechanisms to effectively manage mycotoxin problems in these grains is essential to ensure the safety of humans and domesticated animals that consume these grains.

Ozonation of agri-food products for reducing mycotoxin contamination: challenges in grains and particulates processing

This study evaluated differences in the efficiency of ozonation process to reduce the natural contamination of two mycotoxins, deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZEN), in wheat grains and particulate products. Three different products were used, each one representing a different structure and mycotoxin distribution: (1) wheat grains, with natural mycotoxin distribution inside and among the grains; (2) homemade pellets, with homogenous mycotoxin distribution; (3) ground homemade pellets, with homogeneous mycotoxin distribution, and smaller particles. The ozonation of naturally contaminated wheat grains did not reduce the concentrations of DON and ZEN. When the variability of contamination among replicates was reduced by the production of homemade pellets showed, the ozonation provides a reduction of 14% of ZEN concentration. Reducing the size of particles by grinding the homemade pellets, a reduction of DON (11%) and ZEN (31%) was observed, which was evidenced by the higher ozone consumption during the process. Therefore, some limitations of ozonation of grains and particulate products, such as particle dimensions and distribution of natural contamination of mycotoxins affect the degradation of DON and ZEN under real conditions. Because of this, further studies to evaluate the effectiveness of ozonation should also be performed in samples naturally contaminated to produce robustness results.

Effect of ozone application on the removal of pesticides from grapes and green bell peppers and changes in their nutraceutical quality

The present study evaluates the efficacy of ozonated water for the removal of pesticide residues in grapes and green bell peppers. Fruit fortified with pesticides (azoxystrobin, chlorothalonil, chlorpyrifos, cypermethrin, hexaconazole and methyl parathion) were subjected to 15 and 30 min aqueous ozone treatment. GC analysis of ozonated fruits showed a 48.67% to 96.95% decrease in pesticide residues of different pesticides. Methyl paraoxon, a toxic degradation product of methyl parathion, was detected in the ozonated water sample. To assess the effect of ozonation on the nutraceutical quality of fruits, the concentrations of eleven polyphenols and ascorbic acid were analyzed. The individual polyphenols showed different trend in 15 and 30 min treatment. Overall, there was an increase in the levels of all the polyphenols in grapes after 30 min ozonation treatment. In peppers, there was a net increase in quercetin, quercetin-3-O-glucoside, rutin and kaempferol in 30 min while other polyphenols were decreased. The ascorbic acid content of both the fruits was decreased by more than 70% upon ozonation. Thus, ozonation treatment was effective in pesticide removal. However, it changed the nutraceutical quality of grapes and green bell peppers.

Selected Quality Attributes of Wheat Flour Added with Overozonized Wheat Flour

Overozonized wheat flour was added to unozonized wheat flour at three different ratios (M1: 1 : 1; M2: 1 : 2; and M3: 1 : 3), and the mixed flour was evaluated for quality properties, including pH, protein component, dough property, pasting property, and steamed bread quality. The pH of the mixed flour gradually increased as the addition content of overozonized flour decreased. The three mixed flour had higher insoluble polymeric protein (IPP) content than unozonized flour. Compared with overozonized flour, M1 and M2 flour did not show a significant difference in IPP content, but M3 flour exhibited a decreased IPP content. Three mixed flour had higher dough development time and dough stability time than both unozonized and overozonized flour, and there was no significant difference among three mixed flour in these two dough parameters. Peak, trough, and final viscosities of the three mixed flour were between those of unozonized and overozonized flour. Steamed bread of three mixed flour had larger specific volume and better texture than that of overozonized flour, with steamed bread of M3 flour showing the best attributes. Among the three mixed flour, M1 flour was the closest to overozonized flour in volatile compounds of steamed bread. These results suggested overozonized flour can be mixed with unozonized flour to decrease the deterioration of overozonization on the dough and food-making properties of wheat flour, but the mixing ratio should be taken into consideration to obtain a better quality.

Mycotoxins Affecting Animals, Foods, Humans, and Plants: Types, Occurrence, Toxicities, Action Mechanisms, Prevention, and Detoxification Strategies-A Revisit

Mycotoxins are produced by fungi and are known to be toxic to humans and animals. Common mycotoxins include aflatoxins, ochratoxins, zearalenone, patulin, sterigmatocystin, citrinin, ergot alkaloids, deoxynivalenol, fumonisins, trichothecenes, Alternaria toxins, tremorgenic mycotoxins, fusarins, 3-nitropropionic acid, cyclochlorotine, sporidesmin, etc. These mycotoxins can pose several health risks to both animals and humans, including death. As several mycotoxins simultaneously occur in nature, especially in foods and feeds, the detoxification and/or total removal of mycotoxins remains challenging. Moreover, given that the volume of scientific literature regarding mycotoxins is steadily on the rise, there is need for continuous synthesis of the body of knowledge. To supplement existing information, knowledge of mycotoxins affecting animals, foods, humans, and plants, with more focus on types, toxicity, and prevention measures, including strategies employed in detoxification and removal, were revisited in this work. Our synthesis revealed that mycotoxin decontamination, control, and detoxification strategies cut across pre-and post-harvest preventive measures. In particular, pre-harvest measures can include good agricultural practices, fertilization/irrigation, crop rotation, using resistant varieties of crops, avoiding insect damage, early harvesting, maintaining adequate humidity, and removing debris from the preceding harvests. On the other hand, post-harvest measures can include processing, chemical, biological, and physical measures. Additionally, chemical-based methods and other emerging strategies for mycotoxin detoxification can involve the usage of chitosan, ozone, nanoparticles, and plant extracts.

Mycotoxins Biocontrol Methods for Healthier Crops and Stored Products

Contamination of crops with phytopathogenic genera such as Fusarium, Aspergillus, Alternaria, and Penicillium usually results in mycotoxins in the stored crops or the final products (bread, beer, etc.). To reduce the damage and suppress the fungal growth, it is common to add antifungal substances during growth in the field or storage. Many of these antifungal substances are also harmful to human health and the reduction of their concentration would be of immense importance to food safety. Many eminent researchers are seeking a way to reduce the use of synthetic antifungal compounds and to implement more eco-friendly and healthier bioweapons against fungal proliferation and mycotoxin synthesis. This paper aims to address the recent advances in the effectiveness of biological antifungal compounds application against the aforementioned fungal genera and their species to enhance the protection of ecological and environmental systems involved in crop growing (water, soil, air) and to reduce fungicide contamination of food derived from these commodities.

Mechanisms of deoxynivalenol (DON) degradation during different treatments: a review

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is one of the main trichothecenes, that causes health-related issues in humans and animals and imposes considerable financial loss to the food industry each year. Numerous treatments have been reported in the literature on the degradation of DON in food products. These treatments include thermal, chemical, biological/enzymatic, irradiation, light, ultrasound, ozone, and atmospheric cold plasma treatments. Each of these methods has different degradation efficacy and degrades DON by a distinct mechanism, which leads to various degradation byproducts with different toxicity. This manuscript focuses to review the degradation of DON by the aforementioned treatments, the chemical structure and toxicity of the byproducts, and the degradation pathway of DON. Based on the type of treatment, DON can be degraded to norDONs A-F, DON lactones, and ozonolysis products or transformed into de-epoxy deoxynivalenol, DON-3-glucoside, 3-acetyl-DON, 7-acetyl-DON, 15-acetyl-DON, 3-keto-DON, or 3-epi-DON. DON is a major problem for the grain industry and the studies focusing on DON degradation mechanisms could be helpful to select the best method and overcome the DON contamination in grains.

Properties of flour from pearled wheat kernels as affected by ozone treatment

Two different pearling degrees of wheat kernels (lightly-pearled: 14.4% and heavily-pearled: 38.9%) and un-pearled kernels were treated with ozone and evaluated for flour compositions and properties. Ozonation did not change main compositions and damaged starch content of three kernels' flours. Flour brightness of all three kernels was improved after ozone treatment. Ozonation enhanced the dough strength of the flours from un-pearled and pearled kernels and the effect elevated with increasing pearling degree. Ozone treatment increased the peak viscosity of flour and the level of increase in heavily-pearled kernels was greater than un-pearled and lightly-pearled. Ozonation resulted in an increase in the insoluble protein polymer content of heavily-pearled kernels' flour, but only had a slight effect on un-pearled lightly-pearled kernels. After ozone treatment, un-pearled and lightly-pearled kernels exhibited increases in molecular weight of starch, but heavily-pearled resulted in the opposite trend.

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

Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by some filamentous fungi, which can cause toxicity in animal species, including humans. Because of their high toxicological impacts, mycotoxins have received significant consideration, leading to the definition of strict legislative thresholds and limits in many areas of the world. Mycotoxins can reduce farm profits not only through reduced crop quality and product refusal, but also through a reduction in animal productivity and health. This paper briefly addresses the impacts of mycotoxin contamination of feed and food on animal and human health, and describes the main pre- and post-harvest systems to control their levels, including genetic, agronomic, biological, chemical, and physical methods. It so highlights (i) the lack of effective and straightforward solutions to control mycotoxin contamination in the field, at pre-harvest, as well as later post-harvest; and (ii) the increasing demand for novel methods to control mycotoxin infections, intoxications, and diseases, without leaving toxic chemical residues in the food and feed chain. Thus, the broad objective of the present study was to review the literature on the use of ozone for mycotoxin decontamination, proposing this gaseous air pollutant as a powerful tool to detoxify mycotoxins from feed and food.

Application of ozone for degradation of mycotoxins in food: A review

Mycotoxins such as aflatoxins (AFs), ochratoxin A (OTA) fumonisins (FMN), deoxynivalenol (DON), zearalenone (ZEN), and patulin are stable at regular food process practices. Ozone (O₃ ) is a strong oxidizer and generally considered as a safe antimicrobial agent in food industries. Ozone disrupts fungal cells through oxidizing sulfhydryl and amino acid groups of enzymes or attacks the polyunsaturated fatty acids of the cell wall. Fusarium is the most sensitive mycotoxigenic fungi to ozonation followed by Aspergillus and Penicillium. Studies have shown complete inactivation of Fusarium and Aspergillus by O₃ gas. Spore germination and toxin production have also been reduced after ozone fumigation. Both naturally and artificially, mycotoxin-contaminated samples have shown significant mycotoxin reduction after ozonation. Although the mechanism of detoxification is not very clear for some mycotoxins, it is believed that ozone reacts with the functional groups in the mycotoxin molecules, changes their molecular structures, and forms products with lower molecular weight, less double bonds, and less toxicity. Although some minor physicochemical changes were observed in some ozone-treated foods, these changes may or may not affect the use of the ozonated product depending on the further application of it. The effectiveness of the ozonation process depends on the exposure time, ozone concentration, temperature, moisture content of the product, and relative humidity. Due to its strong oxidizing property and corrosiveness, there are strict limits for O₃ gas exposure. O₃ gas has limited penetration and decomposes quickly. However, ozone treatment can be used as a safe and green technology for food preservation and control of contaminants.

Fusarium Head Blight, Mycotoxins and Strategies for Their Reduction

Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites of microscopic fungi, which commonly contaminate cereal grains. Contamination of small-grain cereals and maize with toxic metabolites of fungi, both pathogenic and saprotrophic, is one of the particularly important problems in global agriculture. Fusarium species are among the dangerous cereal pathogens with a high toxicity potential. Secondary metabolites of these fungi, such as deoxynivalenol, zearalenone and fumonisin B1 are among five most important mycotoxins on a European and world scale. The use of various methods to limit the development of Fusarium cereal head diseases and grain contamination with mycotoxins, before and after harvest, is an important element of sustainable agriculture and production of safe food. The applied strategies utilize chemical and non-chemical methods, including agronomic, physical and biological treatments. Biological methods now occupy a special place in plant protection as an element of biocontrol of fungal pathogens by inhibiting their development and reducing mycotoxins in grain. According to the literature, Good Agricultural Practices are the best line of defense for controlling Fusarium toxin contamination of cereal and maize grains. However, fluctuations in weather conditions can significantly reduce the effectiveness of plants protection methods against infection with Fusarium spp. and grain accumulation of mycotoxins.

Advances in Occurrence, Importance, and Mycotoxin Control Strategies: Prevention and Detoxification in Foods

Mycotoxins are toxic substances that can infect many foods with carcinogenic, genotoxic, teratogenic, nephrotoxic, and hepatotoxic effects. Mycotoxin contamination of foodstuffs causes diseases worldwide. The major classes of mycotoxins that are of the greatest agroeconomic importance are aflatoxins, ochratoxins, fumonisins, trichothecenes, emerging Fusarium mycotoxins, enniatins, ergot alkaloids, Alternaria toxins, and patulin. Thus, in order to mitigate mycotoxin contamination of foods, many control approaches are used. Prevention, detoxification, and decontamination of mycotoxins can contribute in this purpose in the pre-harvest and post-harvest stages. Therefore, the purpose of the review is to elaborate on the recent advances regarding the occurrence of main mycotoxins in many types of important agricultural products, as well as the methods of inactivation and detoxification of foods from mycotoxins in order to reduce or fully eliminate them.

Fusarium head blight and mycotoxins in wheat: prevention and control strategies across the food chain

With 744 million metric tons produced in 2017/2018, bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) and durum wheat (Triticum durum) are the second most widely produced cereal on a global basis. Prevention or control of wheat diseases may have an enormous impact on global food security and safety. Fusarium head blight is an economically debilitating disease of wheat that reduces the quantity and quality of grain harvested, and may lead to contamination with the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol, which affects the health of humans and domesticated animals. Current climate change scenarios predict an increase in the number of epidemics caused by this disease. Multiple strategies are available for managing the disease including cultural practices, planting less-susceptible cultivars, crop rotation, and chemical and biological controls. None of these strategies, however, is completely effective by itself, and an integrated approach incorporating multiple controls simultaneously is the only effective strategy to limit the disease and reduce deoxynivalenol contamination in human food and animal feed chains. This review identifies the available tools and strategies for mitigating the damage that can result from Fusarium head blight.

Cytotoxicity of Deoxynivalenol after Being Exposed to Gaseous Ozone

In this study, deoxynivalenol (DON) in aqueous solution was exposed to gaseous ozone for periods ranging from 0 to 20 min. The degradation efficiency and cytotoxicity of DON were investigated after being treated by ozone. The results showed that DON was rapidly degraded from 10.76 ± 0.09 mg/L to 0.22 ± 0.04 mg/L within 15 min (P < 0.05), representing a reduction of 97.95%, and no DON was detected after being exposed to 14.50 mg/L of ozone at a flow rate of 80 mL/min for 20 min. The degradation of DON depended on the ozone exposure time, and followed the first-order kinetic model (R2 = 0.9972). Human hepatic carcinoma (HepG2) and Henrietta Lacks (Hela) cells were used to evaluate the cytotoxicity of DON treated by ozone using the 3-(4,5-Dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2-H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The half-maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC50) values of DON on HepG2 and Hela cells were 2.10 and 1.33 mg/L after 48 h of exposure, respectively, and showed a dose-dependent manner. The cell vitalities of HepG2 and Hela cells on DON were both evidently improved after being exposed to ozone for 15 min, and there were no significant differences between the negative control and that treated at 20 min of ozone exposure. Gaseous ozone can potentially be used as a new method to detoxify DON in agricultural products.

Detoxification of DON by photocatalytic degradation and quality evaluation of wheat

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is regarded as the most common contaminant of cereal grains. Therefore, finding an efficient and safe detoxification technology is of great significance in the field of food. In this study, upconversion nanoparticles@TiO2 composites were used for the photocatalytic degradation of DON in wheat. The effect of photocatalytic oxidation on wheat quality was also evaluated by studying the basic physical and chemical indexes of wheat. The results showed that the removal rate of DON in wheat could reach 72.8% within 90 min when the dosage of photocatalyst UCNP@TiO2 was 8 mg mL-1 and the ratio of wheat to liquid was 1 : 2. In addition, the composites can be easily removed by washing, thus ensuring the low exposure dose of the nanomaterials in wheat. Studies on the nutritional quality of wheat showed that photocatalytic technology had little effect on the starch, protein, amino acid content of wheat (p > 0.05). The whiteness of wheat flour decreased and the yellowness increased. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of wheat starch showed that the surfaces of starch granules were damaged to varying degrees with the prolongation of illumination time. Meanwhile, the fatty acid value and wet gluten content and pasting properties of wheat decreased significantly during photocatalysis (p < 0.05). This study demonstrates that photocatalytic degradation will have a promising prospect in toxin removal.

Structure Elucidation and Toxicity Analysis of the Degradation Products of Deoxynivalenol by Gaseous Ozone

Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) or scab is a fungal disease of cereal grains. Wheat scab affects the yield and quality of wheat and produces mycotoxins such as deoxynivalenol (DON), which can seriously threaten human and animal health. In this study, gaseous ozone was used to degrade DON in wheat scab and the degradation products of ozonolysis were analyzed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole-orbitrap mass spectrometry (UHPLC Q-Orbitrap). Toxicology analyses of the degradation products were also studied using structure-activity relationships. Ozone (8 mg L^-1 concentration) was applied to 2 μg mL^-1 of DON in ultrapure water, resulted in 95.68% degradation within 15 s. Ten ozonized products of DON in ultrapure water were analyzed and six main products (C₁₅H₁₈O₇, C₁₅H₁₈O₉, C₁₅H₂₂O₉, C₁₅H₂₀O₁₀, C₁₅H₁₈O_8, and C₁₅H₂₀O₉) were analyzed at varying concentrations of ozone and DON. Structural formulae were assigned to fragmentation products generated by MS² and Mass Frontier^® software. According to structure-activity relationship studies, the toxicities of the ozonized products were significantly decreased due to de-epoxidation and the attack of ozone at the C_9-10 double bond in DON. Based on the results of the study above, we can find that gaseous ozone is an efficient and safe technology to degrade DON, and these results may provide a theoretical basis for the practical research of detoxifying DON in scabby wheat and other grains.

Reduction of Deoxynivalenol in Wheat with Superheated Steam and Its Effects on Wheat Quality

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is the most commonly found mycotoxin in scabbed wheat. In order to reduce the DON concentration in scabbed wheat with superheated steam (SS) and explore the feasibility to use the processed wheat as crisp biscuit materials, wheat kernels were treated with SS to study the effects of SS processing on DON concentration and the quality of wheat. Furthermore, the wheat treated with SS were used to make crisp biscuits and the texture qualities of biscuits were measured. The results showed that DON in wheat kernels could be reduced by SS effectively. Besides, the reduction rate raised significantly with the increase of steam temperature and processing time and it was also affected significantly by steam velocity. The reduction rate in wheat kernels and wheat flour could reach 77.4% and 60.5% respectively. In addition, SS processing might lead to partial denaturation of protein and partial gelatinization of starch, thus affecting the rheological properties of dough and pasting properties of wheat flour. Furthermore, the qualities of crisp biscuits were improved at certain conditions of SS processing.

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

Mycotoxins are a potential health threat in cereals including wheat. In the European Union (EU), mycotoxin maximum levels are laid down for cereal raw materials and final food products. For wheat and wheat-based products, the EU maximum levels apply to deoxynivalenol (DON), zearalenone, aflatoxins, and ochratoxin A. This review provides a comprehensive overview on the different mycotoxins and their legal limits and on how processing of wheat can affect such contaminants, from raw material to highly processed final products, based on relevant scientific studies published in the literature. The potential compliance with EU maximum levels is discussed. Of the four mycotoxins regulated in wheat-based foods in the EU, most data are available for DON, whereas aflatoxins were rarely studied in the processing of wheat. Furthermore, available data on the effect of processing are outlined for mycotoxins not regulated by EU law-including modified and emerging mycotoxins-and which cover DON derivatives (DON-3-glucoside, mono-acetyl-DONs, norDONs, deepoxy-DON), nivalenol, T-2 and HT-2 toxins, enniatins, beauvericin, moniliformin, and fumonisins. The processing steps addressed in this review cover primary processing (premilling and milling operations) and secondary processing procedures (such as fermentation and thermal treatments). A special focus is on the production of baked goods, and processing factors for DON in wheat bread production were estimated. For wheat milling products derived from the endosperm and for white bread, compliance with legal requirements seems to be mostly achievable when applying good practices. In the case of wholemeal products, bran-enriched products, or high-cereal low-moisture bakery products, this appears to be challenging and improved technology and/or selection of high-quality raw materials would be required.

Effect of gaseous ozone treatments on DON, microbial contaminants and technological parameters of wheat and semolina

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is an important mycotoxin produced by several species of Fusarium. It occurs often in wheat grain and is frequently associated with significant levels of its modified form DON-3-glucoside (DON-3-Glc). Ozone (O₃) is a powerful disinfectant and oxidant, classified as GRAS (Generally Recognised As Safe), that reacts easily with specific compounds including the mycotoxins aflatoxins, ochratoxin A, trichothecenes and zearalenone. It degrades DON in aqueous solution and can be effective for decontamination of grain. This study reports the efficacy of gaseous ozone treatments in reducing DON, DON-3-Glc, bacteria, fungi and yeasts in naturally contaminated durum wheat. A prototype was used to dispense ozone continuously and homogeneously at different concentrations and exposure time, in 2 kg aliquots of durum wheat. The optimal conditions, which do not affect chemical and rheological parameters of durum wheat, semolina and pasta, were identified (55 g O₃ h^-1 for 6 h). The measured mean reductions of DON and DON-3-Glc in ozonated wheat were 29% and 44%, respectively. Ozonation also produced a significant (p < 0.05) reduction of total count (CFU/g) of bacteria, fungi and yeasts in wheat grains.

Ozonation of whole wheat flour and wet milling effluent: Degradation of deoxynivalenol (DON) and rheological properties

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 (O₃) 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.