Effect of the antagonistic yeast Hannaella sinensis on the degradation of Patulin

Abstract

Patulin (PAT) is a toxic fungal metabolite that is widely distributed in food and poses a serious health risk to humans and animals. Hannaella sinensis has been found to be effective in controlling post-harvest diseases of apples. However, it is not known whether H. sinensis can degrade PAT. The aim of this study was to investigate the degradation efficacy of PAT by H. sinensis and the possible mechanisms involved. The experimental results showed that H. sinensis degraded 100 % of PAT in NYDB medium within 30 h. The living cells of H. sinensis did not absorb PAT, and the cell wall and extracellular metabolites of H. sinensis were not involved in the degradation of PAT. The addition of cycloheximide to the culture medium inhibited the degradation of PAT by H. sinensis. Our results indicated that H. sinensis could degrade PAT and that the intracellular enzymes of H. sinensis played a crucial role in the degradation process. This result provides a new solution for the degradation of PAT.