Degradation of mycotoxins by pulsed light and evaluation of the safety of degradation products

Abstract

This study evaluated the efficiency of pulsed light (PL) on the degradation of alternariol (AOH), alternariol monomethyl ether (AME), and Citrinin (CIT) in apple juice. The results found that the degradation rates of AOH, AME, and CIT were significantly increased by decreasing the depth of the juice and the distance during the pulsed light treatment (p < 0.05). CIT was more sensitive to the pulsed light and reached the degradation rate of 78.5% after 8 flashes; the degradation rates of AOH and AME only reached 79.2% and 68.7% after 40 flashes; their degradation processes were consistent with the quasi-first-order kinetic equation. The Vitro toxicity test of HepG2 cells showed that the toxicity of AOH, AME, and CIT degradation products was reduced.