Abstract
Aflatoxins are a group of secondary metabolites produced by members of Aspergillus Section Flavi that are dangerous to humans and animals. Nuts can be potentially contaminated with aflatoxins, often over the legal threshold. Food processes, including roasting, may have different effects on mycotoxins, and high temperatures have proven to be very effective in the reduction of mycotoxins. In this work, two different roasting methods—traditional static hot air roasting and infra-red rays roasting—were applied and compared for the detoxification of hazelnuts from Italy and Turkey. At the temperature of 140 °C for 40 min of exposure, detoxification was effective for both roasting techniques. Residual aflatoxins after infra-red rays treatments were lower compared to static hot air roasting. On Italian hazelnuts, residual aflatoxins were lower than 5%, while for Turkish hazelnuts they were lower than 15% after 40 min of exposure to an infra-red rays roaster. After roasting, the perisperm was detached from the nuts and analyzed for aflatoxin contents. Residual aflatoxins in the perisperm ranged from 80% up to 100%. After roasting, the lipid profile and the nutritional quality of hazelnuts were not affected. Fatty acid methyl esters analyses showed a similar composition for Italian and Turkish hazelnuts.
Highlights
Aflatoxins (AFs) are a group of secondary metabolites produced by members of Aspergillus SectionFlavi—mainly A. flavus and A. parasiticus [1]—on a variety of food products, such as nuts, grains, and spices [2]
Residual aflatoxins after roasting showed a different trend for Italian and Turkish hazelnuts; a decrease was observed at the same temperature with increasing exposure time only for Turkish hazelnuts
The residue was lower in aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and aflatoxin G1 (AFG1) than aflatoxin B2 (AFB2) and
Summary
Aflatoxins (AFs) are a group of secondary metabolites produced by members of Aspergillus SectionFlavi—mainly A. flavus and A. parasiticus [1]—on a variety of food products, such as nuts, grains, and spices [2]. Aflatoxins (AFs) are a group of secondary metabolites produced by members of Aspergillus Section. Since 1960, more than 20 aflatoxins have been identified; only four of them—aflatoxin B1. (AFB1 ), aflatoxin B2 (AFB2 ), aflatoxin G1 (AFG1 ), aflatoxin G2 (AFG2 )—occur naturally [3,4]. AFs are a group of difuranocoumarin derivatives named based on their fluorescence under UV-light. AFB1 and AFB2 have a blue fluorescence due to the difuro-coumaro-cyclopentenone structure, while a six-member lactone ring replacing the cyclopentenone is responsible for the yellow-green fluorescence of AFG1 and AFG2 [5]. AFB1 and AFG1 have an olefinic double bond at the C8 -C9 position, whereas AFB2 and AFG2 lack this bond. AFs are toxic, mutagenic, teratogenic, carcinogenic compounds implicated in human hepatic and extrahepatic carcinogenesis [6].
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