Abstract
Aspergillus spp. are widely occurring fungi in nature; they produce toxic compounds such as aflatoxins (AFs) and mainly target plant products such as corn and nuts. The development of prevention strategies is challenging because AFs are highly toxic and have been regulated to small concentrations. This study proposes a new strategy of AF prevention through the application of rapid methods using acoustic techniques in combination with fermentation for the elimination of contaminated corn from bioethanol production processes. An acoustic device was used for the analysis of model systems consisting of corn and nuts (hazelnuts and peanuts) contaminated with different amounts of AFs. High correlations were obtained between penetrated acoustic signal amplitude (Ap) and corn sample density, and between Ap and AF content. Also, relationships were found between changes in Ap values and AF contamination in the nuts model systems. The results of biotreatment of contaminated corn during bioethanol production confirmed that AFs cannot be completely eliminated in dried distiller’s grains with solubles, a valuable by-product for animal feed. Microbially, contamination of the raw material has a negative impact on bioethanol quality by increasing the content of volatile compounds. Therefore, the application of methods such as acoustic screening is a promising alternative for rapid AF detection in corn and nuts (it can handle multi-layers of grain). With the application of acoustic techniques, the prevention of AFs in contaminated raw plant materials could be achieved.
Highlights
Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus are one of the most common fungal strains in the agricultural sector, producing the aflatoxins (AFS) AFB1 and AFB2, and AFG1 and AFG2, which are chemically related to bisfuranocoumarin (Udomkun et al, 2017; He et al, 2018) and found worldwide in soil, air, and plants (Bandyopadhyay et al, 2016; Rushing and Selim, 2019)
Microscopic analysis of the grains contaminated by Aspergillus and the wholesome corn shows visible damage on the surface of the contaminated grain kernels (Figure 2B) and shows what happens to the structure of the grain kernels when attacked by Aspergillus spp
The influence of contaminated grains on grain bulk density was studied by determining the relationship between the content of damaged grains and the amplitude of the penetrating (Ap) acoustic signal measured by the acoustic spectrometer (Figure 4)
Summary
Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus are one of the most common fungal strains in the agricultural sector, producing the aflatoxins (AFS) AFB1 and AFB2, and AFG1 and AFG2, which are chemically related to bisfuranocoumarin (Udomkun et al, 2017; He et al, 2018) and found worldwide in soil, air, and plants (Bandyopadhyay et al, 2016; Rushing and Selim, 2019). The prevention of fungal contamination and the development of methods for the decontamination of foods from mycotoxins are important strategies to protect human and animal health (Ehrlich, 2014; Reinholds et al, 2016; Ismail et al, 2018; Pankaj et al, 2018; Mwakinyali et al, 2019). Fungal infection results in the accumulation of mycotoxins, and causes grains to shrivel and become more porous. This phenomenon is known as head blight or scab, one of the indicators of poor wheat grain quality (Juodeikiene et al, 2011; Ropelewska et al, 2019; Zhang and Ji, 2019).
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