Bacillomycin D with calcium propionate effectively inhibited microbial growth and reduced deoxynivalenol on maize kernels during storage

Abstract

Maize kernels contaminated with deoxynivalenol (DON) reduced their nutritional and economic values and were exposed to greater risks under high moisture conditions. In this study, an antifungal combination of bacillomycin D (BD) with calcium propionate (CP) was used in maize polluted by microorganisms and DON. During the storage of maize kernels, BD combined with calcium propionate (BD+CP) treatment inhibited the growth of fungi and bacteria. High dose (250 μg/g BD and 1800 μg/g CP) treatments reduced fungal growth to less than 4 lg CFU/g, while BD+CP groups with 14% and 16% moisture content both maintained bacterial counts below 4 lg CFU/g at the end of storage. High-throughput sequencing results showed that the main contaminating fungi in the samples were Fusarium spp. with a percentage of 32.52%, and the average value of initial DON content in the samples was 210.49 ng/g. The high-dose treatment groups of BD+CP almost completely inhibited the production of DON with 217.99 ± 8.07–247.33 ± 53.34 ng/g (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the production of free fatty acid values (FAV), and the decomposition of protein components were also controlled. BD+CP treatment could effectively inhibit the growth of microorganisms in maize kernels during storage, slow the production of DON, and prolong the shelf life of maize kernels. These results showed that BD+CP could be applied to the storage of naturally contaminated grain, and it is a broad-spectrum fungicide combination with practical application value.