A new physical and biological strategy to reduce the content of zearalenone in infected wheat kernels: the effect of cold needle perforation, microorganisms, and purified enzyme

• Published in: Food research international 2024-06, Vol.186, p.114364-114364, Article 114364
• Main Authors: André, Amandine, Hecht, Katrin, Mischler, Sandra, Stäheli, Luca, Kerhanaj, Fllanza, Buller, Rebecca, Kinner, Mathias, Freimüller Leischtfeld, Susette, Chetschik, Irene, Miescher Schwenninger, Susanne, Müller, Nadina
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bacillus - enzymology; Bacillus licheniformis; Bacillus megaterium; Bacillus megaterium - enzymology; Biological decontamination; cold; Cold needle perforation; decontamination; Decontamination - methods; electron microscopy; Enzymatic degradation; enzymes; fluorescence; fluorescence microscopy; Food Contamination - analysis; Food Handling - methods; Food Microbiology; food research; food waste; HPLC-MS/MS; hydrolysis; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; Mycotoxins; nutritive value; porosity; Seeds - chemistry; Seeds - microbiology; supply chain; Triticum - chemistry; Triticum - microbiology; waste reduction; Wheat; Wheat kernels; Zearalenone; Zearalenone - analysis; Zearalenone hydrolase
• ISSN: 0963-9969; 1873-7145
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2024.114364

[Display omitted] •Mitigation of ZEA-infected wheat kernels by microorganism or enzyme was tested.•Effect of pre-treating wheat kernels by cold needle perforation was investigated.•(Un)targeted HPLC-MS/MS method to quantify mycotoxin and degradation products.•Two Bacillus strains and one enzyme were applied on contaminated wheat kernels.•ZEA-reduction by enzymatic treatment was statistically significant. With the aim of reintroducing wheat grains naturally contaminated with mycotoxins into the food value chain, a decontamination strategy was developed in this study. For this purpose, in a first step, the whole wheat kernels were pre-treated using cold needle perforation. The pore size was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy and the accessibility of enzymes and microorganisms determined using fluorescent markers in the size range of enzymes (5 nm) and microorganisms (10 μm), and fluorescent microscopy. The perforated wheat grains, as well as non-perforated grains as controls, were then incubated with selected microorganisms (Bacillus megaterium Myk145 and B. licheniformis MA572) or with the enzyme ZHD518. The two bacilli strains were not able to significantly reduce the amount of zearalenone (ZEA), neither in the perforated nor in the non-perforated wheat kernels in comparison with the controls. In contrast, the enzyme ZHD518 significantly reduced the initial concentration of ZEA in the perforated and non-perforated wheat kernels in comparison with controls. Moreover, in vitro incubation of ZHD518 with ZEA showed the presence of two non-estrogenic degradation products of ZEA: hydrolysed zearalenone (HZEA) and decarboxylated hydrolysed ZEA (DHZEA). In addition, the physical pre-treatment led to a reduction in detectable mycotoxin contents in a subset of samples. Overall, this study emphasizes the promising potential of combining physical pre-treatment approaches with biological decontamination solutions in order to address the associated problem of mycotoxin contamination and food waste reduction.