Evaluation of the nixtamalized cornbread-making process as a method of aflatoxin detoxification

• Published in: Journal für Verbraucherschutz und Lebensmittelsicherheit 2024-03, Vol.19 (1), p.71-80
• Main Authors: Zavala-Franco, Anai, Canelo-Álvarez, Fátima, García-Salinas, Francisco, Alcántara-Zavala, Alejandra, Figueroa-Cárdenas, Juan de Dios, Méndez-Albores, Abraham
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aflatoxins; Agriculture; Baking; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biotechnology; Calcium hydroxide; Carcinogens; Cereal crops; Chemistry/Food Science; Contamination; Corn; Detoxification; Fermentation; Fluorescence; Food Science; Gluten; Life Sciences; Plant Genetics and Genomics; Raw materials; Reduction; Research Article; Slaked lime
• ISSN: 1661-5751; 1661-5867
• DOI: 10.1007/s00003-023-01464-7

Corn is one of the major cereal crops produced worldwide. It has recently been used for the production of healthy, gluten-free, and high-fiber bread. However, corn is highly susceptible to aflatoxin (AF) contamination, representing a serious health concern, as aflatoxins (AFs) are carcinogenic to humans. In this study, the cornbread-making process using the unit operations nixtamalization with different calcium sources, fermentation, and baking was evaluated as a method for AF detoxification at 2 different contamination levels. The nixtamalized cornbread-making process with tequesquite (an alkaline mineral complex) showed an average reduction of 77.12% in AF content from 550.33 µg/kg to 114.50 µg/kg. For the second contamination level (2208.33 µg/kg), the cornbread-making process with the nixtamalization using calcium hydroxide was the most effective, resulting in an average reduction in AF content of 83.58% (362.50 µg/kg). At both levels, the control cornbread samples were significantly different (p