Mycotoxin decontamination efficacy of atmospheric pressure air plasma

Hojnik, Nataša (author), Modic, Martina (author), Tavčar-Kalcher, Gabrijela (author), Babič, Janja (author), Walsh, James L. (author), Cvelbar, Uroš (author)

Mycotoxins, the toxic secondary metabolites of mould species, are a growing global concern, rendering almost 25% of all food produced unfit for human or animal consumption, thus placing immense pressure on the food supply chain. Cold Atmospheric pressure Plasma (CAP) represents a promising, low-cost, and environmentally friendly means to degrade mycotoxins with negligible effect on the quality of food products. Despite this promise, the study of CAP-mediated mycotoxin degradation has been limited to a small subset of the vast number of mycotoxins that plague the food supply chain. This study explores the degradation of aflatoxins, trichothecenes, fumonisins, and zearalenone using CAP generated in ambient air. CAP treatment was found to reduce aflatoxins by 93%, trichothecenes by 90%, fumonisins by 93%, and zearalenone by 100% after 8 minutes exposure. To demonstrate the potential of CAP-mediated mycotoxin degradation against more conventional methods, its efficiency was compared against ultraviolet C (UVC) light irradiation. In all cases, CAP was found to be considerably more efficient than UVC, with aflatoxin G$_1$ and zearalenone being completely degraded, levels that could not be achieved using UVC irradiation.

• Language: English
• Keywords: mycotoxins, cold atmospheric pressure plasma, decontamination
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: VF - Veterinary Faculty
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2019
• Number of pages: 12 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 11, iss. 4, art. 219
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-132341
• UDC: 533
• ISSN on article: 2072-6651
• DOI: 10.3390/toxins11040219
• COBISS.SI-ID: 32409895
• Publication date in RUL: 22.10.2021

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Toxins
• Shortened title: Toxins
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 2072-6651
• COBISS.SI-ID: 517594649

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.
• Licensing start date: 12.04.2019