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15 pages, 2214 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Biopreservative and Anti-Mycotoxigenic Potentials of Lactobacillus paracasei MG847589 and Its Bacteriocin in Soft White Cheese

by Mohamed G. Shehata, Tawfiq Alsulami, Nourhan M. Abd El-Aziz, Hagar S. Abd-Rabou, Sobhy A. El Sohaimy, Amira M. G. Darwish, Karolina Hoppe, Hatem S. Ali and Ahmed Noah Badr

Toxins 2024, 16(2), 93; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins16020093 - 07 Feb 2024

Viewed by 1219

Abstract

Probiotics and their bacteriocins have increasingly attracted interest for their use as safe food preservatives. This study aimed to produce soft white cheese fortified with Lacticaseibacillus MG847589 (Lb. paracasei MG847589) and/or its bacteriocin; cheese with Lacticaseibacillus (CP), cheese with bacteriocin (CB), and [...] Read more.

Probiotics and their bacteriocins have increasingly attracted interest for their use as safe food preservatives. This study aimed to produce soft white cheese fortified with Lacticaseibacillus MG847589 (Lb. paracasei MG847589) and/or its bacteriocin; cheese with Lacticaseibacillus (CP), cheese with bacteriocin (CB), and cheese with both Lacticaseibacillus and bacteriocin (CPB) were compared to control cheese (CS) to evaluate their biopreservative and anti-mycotoxigenic potentials for prolonged shelf life and safe food applications. The effects of these fortifications on physiochemical, microbial, texture, microstructure, and sensory properties were studied. Fortification with Lacticaseibacillus (CP) increased acidity (0.61%) and microbial counts, which may make the microstructure porous, while CPB showed intact microstructure. The CPB showed the highest hardness value (3988.03 g), while the lowest was observed with CB (2525.73 g). Consequently, the sensory assessment reflected the panelists’ preference for CPB, which gained higher scores than the control (CS). Fortification with Lb. paracasei MG847589 and bacteriocin (CPB) showed inhibition effects against S. aureus from 6.52 log₁₀ CFU/g at time zero to 2.10 log₁₀ CFU/g at the end of storage, A. parasiticus (from 5.06 to 3.03 log₁₀ CFU/g), and P. chrysogenum counts (from 5.11 to 2.86 log₁₀ CFU/g). Additionally, CPB showed an anti-mycotoxigenic effect against aflatoxins AFB₁ and AFM₁, causing them to be decreased (69.63 ± 0.44% and 71.38 ± 0.75%, respectively). These potentials can extend shelf life and pave the way for more suggested food applications of safe food production by fortification with both Lb. paracasei MG847589 and its bacteriocin as biopreservatives and anti-mycotoxigenic. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strategies to Prevent Mycotoxin Contamination of Food and Feed)

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14 pages, 3909 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Isolation and Characterization of the Zearalenone-Degrading Strain, Bacillus spizizenii B73, Inspired by Esterase Activity

by Xue Liu, Na Wu, Mingyu Zhang, Feng Xue and Qing Xu

Toxins 2023, 15(8), 488; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins15080488 - 02 Aug 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1277

Abstract

Zearalenone (ZEN) is a widespread mycotoxin found in grain and feed, presenting a serious threat to animal and human health. This study investigated the ability of the novel strain B73, isolated from petroleum-contaminated soil, to detoxify ZEN. B73 was identified as Bacillus spizizenii [...] Read more.

Zearalenone (ZEN) is a widespread mycotoxin found in grain and feed, presenting a serious threat to animal and human health. This study investigated the ability of the novel strain B73, isolated from petroleum-contaminated soil, to detoxify ZEN. B73 was identified as Bacillus spizizenii through physiological and biochemical tests, and further confirmed based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence and the complete genome sequence. B. spizizenii B73 was capable of degrading up to 99.3% of ZEN at a concentration of 10 μg/mL in a minimal medium (pH = 7.0) within 8 h at 37 °C via HPLC-UV. In addition, B. spizizenii B73 was used to treat ZEN-contaminated wheat bran, dried distillers grains (DDGS), and corn meal, whereby the respective degradation rates reached 96.32%, 98.73%, and 80.31% after 36 h of treatment. HPLC-Q-Exactive-MS/MS analysis revealed one of the degradation products to have the formula C₁₇H₂₄O₄. B. spizizenii B73 is a novel strain isolated from petroleum-contaminated soil, and the extracellular enzymes secreted by this strain show a remarkable ability to degrade ZEN. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strategies to Prevent Mycotoxin Contamination of Food and Feed)

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17 pages, 1870 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Contamination and Health Risk Assessment of Multiple Mycotoxins in Edible and Medicinal Plants

by Yingyue Zhang, Fengyan Kuang, Chunyao Liu, Kai Ma, Tianyu Liu, Meijuan Zhao, Guangping Lv and He Huang

Toxins 2023, 15(3), 209; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins15030209 - 10 Mar 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1895

Abstract

Edible and medicinal plants (EMPs) are widely used but are easily infected by harmful fungi which produce mycotoxins. Herein, 127 samples from 11 provinces were collected to investigate 15 mycotoxins based on geographic, demographic, processing, and risk characteristics. A total of 13 mycotoxins [...] Read more.

Edible and medicinal plants (EMPs) are widely used but are easily infected by harmful fungi which produce mycotoxins. Herein, 127 samples from 11 provinces were collected to investigate 15 mycotoxins based on geographic, demographic, processing, and risk characteristics. A total of 13 mycotoxins were detected, and aflatoxin B₁ (0.56~97.00 μg/kg), deoxynivalenol (9.41~1570.35 μg/kg), fumonisin B₁ (8.25~1875.77 μg/kg), fumonisin B₂ (2.74~543.01 μg/kg), ochratoxin A (0.62~19.30 μg/kg), and zearalenone (1.64~2376.58 μg/kg) occurred more frequently. Mycotoxin levels and species were significantly different by region, types of EMPs, and method of processing. The margin of exposure (MOE) values was well below the safe MOE (10,000). AFB₁ exposure from Coix seed and malt consumption in China was of high health concern. The hazard Index (HI) method showed the range of 113.15~130.73% for malt, indicating a public health concern. In conclusion, EMPs should be concerned because of the cumulative effects of co-occurred mycotoxins, and safety management strategies should be developed in follow-up studies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strategies to Prevent Mycotoxin Contamination of Food and Feed)

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15 pages, 2469 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Zearalenone and Its Emerging Metabolites Promptly Affect the Rumen Microbiota in Holstein Cows Fed a Forage-Rich Diet

by Thomas Hartinger, Iris Kröger, Viktoria Neubauer, Johannes Faas, Barbara Doupovec, Dian Schatzmayr and Qendrim Zebeli

Toxins 2023, 15(3), 185; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins15030185 - 28 Feb 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1438

Abstract

The study investigated the short-term effects of a single oral bolus of zearalenone (ZEN) on the rumen microbiota and fermentation patterns in four rumen-cannulated Holstein cows fed a forage diet with daily 2 kg/cow concentrate. During the baseline day, cows received uncontaminated concentrate, [...] Read more.

The study investigated the short-term effects of a single oral bolus of zearalenone (ZEN) on the rumen microbiota and fermentation patterns in four rumen-cannulated Holstein cows fed a forage diet with daily 2 kg/cow concentrate. During the baseline day, cows received uncontaminated concentrate, followed by ZEN-contaminated concentrate on the second day, and again the uncontaminated concentrate on day three. Free rumen liquid (FRL) and particle-associated rumen liquid (PARL) were collected at different hours post-feeding on all days to analyze the prokaryotic community composition, absolute abundances of bacteria, archaea, protozoa, and anaerobic fungi, as well as short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) profiles. The ZEN reduced the microbial diversity in FRL but not in the PARL fraction. The abundance of protozoa was higher after ZEN exposure in PARL, which may be related to their strong biodegradation capacity that, therefore, promoted protozoal growth. In contrast, α-zearalenol might compromise anaerobic fungi as indicated by reduced abundances in FRL and fairly negative correlations in both fractions. Total SCFA significantly increased in both fractions after ZEN exposure, while the SCFA profile only changed marginally. Concluding, a single ZEN challenge caused changes in the rumen ecosystem soon after intake, including ruminal eukaryotes, that should be the subject of future studies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strategies to Prevent Mycotoxin Contamination of Food and Feed)

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16 pages, 2460 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Improved Production of Recombinant Carboxylesterase FumDM by Co-Expressing Molecular Chaperones in Pichia pastoris

by Lixiang Jiang, Xiao Guan, Hujun Liu, Xiaojiao Chang, Jing Sun, Changpo Sun and Chengcheng Zhao

Toxins 2023, 15(2), 156; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins15020156 - 14 Feb 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1488

Abstract

Fumonisins (FBs) are mycotoxins that threaten public health and food safety worldwide. Enzymatic degradation of Fumonisin B1 (FB₁) through decarboxylation has attracted much attention, whereas application of FB₁ carboxylesterase in detoxification requires more effective expression of the recombinant carboxylesterase. In [...] Read more.

Fumonisins (FBs) are mycotoxins that threaten public health and food safety worldwide. Enzymatic degradation of Fumonisin B1 (FB₁) through decarboxylation has attracted much attention, whereas application of FB₁ carboxylesterase in detoxification requires more effective expression of the recombinant carboxylesterase. In this study, the carboxylesterase FumDM from Sphingopyxis sp. ASAG22 was codon-optimized and co-expressed with five different molecular chaperones (PDI, CPR5, ERO1, HAC1, and Bip) in order to improve the expression level of FumDM in Pichia pastoris (also known as Komagataella phaffii) GS115. The co-expression of different chaperones caused varying degrees of improvement in FumDM activity for FB₁. The enzyme activities of recombinant strains over-expressing PDI and CPR5 reached the highest levels of 259.47 U/mL and 161.34 U/mL, 635% and 357% higher than the original enzyme activity, respectively. Transcriptomic analysis of the two recombinant strains in comparison with the control strain showed that the correct folding of proteins assisted by molecular chaperones played a key role in the improvement of FumDM expression and its enzyme activity. This study demonstrated that co-expression of carboxylesterase FumDM and folding chaperones was an efficient strategy and therefore might inspire new perspectives on the improvement of carboxylesterase for detoxification of FB₁. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strategies to Prevent Mycotoxin Contamination of Food and Feed)

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14 pages, 2106 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Biodegradation of Aflatoxin B₁ in the Baijiu Brewing Process by Bacillus cereus

by Guoli Xue, Yanjun Qu, Dan Wu, Shuyuan Huang, Yuqing Che, Jing Yu and Ping Song

Toxins 2023, 15(1), 65; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins15010065 - 12 Jan 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2206

Abstract

Aflatoxin is a potent mycotoxin and a common source of grain contamination that leads to great economic losses and health problems. Although distilled baijiu cannot be contaminated by aflatoxin, its presence in the brewing process affects the physiological activities of micro-organisms and reduces [...] Read more.

Aflatoxin is a potent mycotoxin and a common source of grain contamination that leads to great economic losses and health problems. Although distilled baijiu cannot be contaminated by aflatoxin, its presence in the brewing process affects the physiological activities of micro-organisms and reduces product quality. Bacillus cereus XSWW9 capable of degrading aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁) was isolated from daqu using coumarin as the sole carbon source. XSWW9 degraded 86.7% of 1 mg/L AFB₁ after incubation at 37 °C for 72 h and tolerated up to 1 mg/L AFB₁ with no inhibitory effects. Enzymes in the cell-free supernatant of XSSW9 played a significant role in AFB₁ degradation. The AFB₁-degradation activity was sensitive to protease K and SDS treatment, which indicated that extracellular proteins were responsible for the degradation of AFB₁. In order to investigate the AFB₁-degradation ability of XSSW9 during the baijiu brewing process, AFB₁ and XSWW9 were added to grain fermentation (FG-T) and normal grain fermentation without AFB₁, while normal grain fermentation without AFB₁ and XSWW9 was used as a control (FG-C). At the end of the fermentation, 99% AFB₁ was degraded in the residue of fermented grains. The differences of microbial communities in the fermented grains showed that there were no significant differences between FG-T and FG-C in the relative abundance of dominant genera. The analysis of volatile compounds of their distillation showed that the contents of skeleton flavor components was similar between FG-T and FG-C. These results offer a basis for the development of effective strategies to reduce the effect of AFB₁ on the brewing process and ensure that the production of baijiu is stable. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strategies to Prevent Mycotoxin Contamination of Food and Feed)

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16 pages, 1682 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Identification and Functional Characterisation of Two Oat UDP-Glucosyltransferases Involved in Deoxynivalenol Detoxification

by Alfia Khairullina, Nikos Tsardakas Renhuldt, Gerlinde Wiesenberger, Johan Bentzer, David B. Collinge, Gerhard Adam and Leif Bülow

Toxins 2022, 14(7), 446; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins14070446 - 30 Jun 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2193

Abstract

Oat is susceptible to several Fusarium species that cause contamination with different trichothecene mycotoxins. The molecular mechanisms behind Fusarium resistance in oat have yet to be elucidated. In the present work, we identified and characterised two oat UDP-glucosyltransferases orthologous to barley HvUGT13248. Overexpression [...] Read more.

Oat is susceptible to several Fusarium species that cause contamination with different trichothecene mycotoxins. The molecular mechanisms behind Fusarium resistance in oat have yet to be elucidated. In the present work, we identified and characterised two oat UDP-glucosyltransferases orthologous to barley HvUGT13248. Overexpression of the latter in wheat had been shown previously to increase resistance to deoxynivalenol (DON) and nivalenol (NIV) and to decrease disease the severity of both Fusarium head blight and Fusarium crown rot. Both oat genes are highly inducible by the application of DON and during infection with Fusarium graminearum. Heterologous expression of these genes in a toxin-sensitive strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae conferred high levels of resistance to DON, NIV and HT-2 toxins, but not C4-acetylated trichothecenes (T-2, diacetoxyscirpenol). Recombinant enzymes AsUGT1 and AsUGT2 expressed in Escherichia coli rapidly lost activity upon purification, but the treatment of whole cells with the toxin clearly demonstrated the ability to convert DON into DON-3-O-glucoside. The two UGTs could therefore play an important role in counteracting the Fusarium virulence factor DON in oat. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strategies to Prevent Mycotoxin Contamination of Food and Feed)

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Review

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22 pages, 424 KiB

Open AccessReview

Perfume Guns: Potential of Yeast Volatile Organic Compounds in the Biological Control of Mycotoxin-Producing Fungi

by Safa Oufensou, Zahoor Ul Hassan, Virgilio Balmas, Samir Jaoua and Quirico Migheli

Toxins 2023, 15(1), 45; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins15010045 - 05 Jan 2023

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3101

Abstract

Pathogenic fungi in the genera Alternaria, Aspergillus, Botrytis, Fusarium, Geotrichum, Gloeosporium, Monilinia, Mucor, Penicillium, and Rhizopus are the most common cause of pre- and postharvest diseases of fruit, vegetable, root and grain commodities. Some [...] Read more.

Pathogenic fungi in the genera Alternaria, Aspergillus, Botrytis, Fusarium, Geotrichum, Gloeosporium, Monilinia, Mucor, Penicillium, and Rhizopus are the most common cause of pre- and postharvest diseases of fruit, vegetable, root and grain commodities. Some species are also able to produce mycotoxins, secondary metabolites having toxic effects on human and non-human animals upon ingestion of contaminated food and feed. Synthetic fungicides still represent the most common tool to control these pathogens. However, long-term application of fungicides has led to unacceptable pollution and may favour the selection of fungicide-resistant mutants. Microbial biocontrol agents may reduce the incidence of toxigenic fungi through a wide array of mechanisms, including competition for the ecological niche, antibiosis, mycoparasitism, and the induction of resistance in the host plant tissues. In recent years, the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) has been proposed as a key mechanism of biocontrol. Their bioactivity and the absence of residues make the use of microbial VOCs a sustainable and effective alternative to synthetic fungicides in the management of postharvest pathogens, particularly in airtight environments. In this review, we will focus on the possibility of applying yeast VOCs in the biocontrol of mycotoxigenic fungi affecting stored food and feed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strategies to Prevent Mycotoxin Contamination of Food and Feed)

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