Elmore Sarah E, Mitchell Nicole, Mays Travis, Brown Kristal, Marroquin-Cardona Alicia, Romoser Amelia, Phillips Timothy D
Veterinary Integrative Biosciences Department, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, TAMU 4458, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA, 77843-4458.
Food Control. 2014 Mar;37. doi: 10.1016/j.foodcont.2013.08.037.
Aflatoxins are common contaminants of staple crops, such as corn and groundnuts, and a significant cause of concern for food safety and public health in developing countries. Aflatoxin B (AFB) has been implicated in the etiology of acute and chronic disease in humans and animals, including growth stunting, liver cancer and death. Cost effective and culturally acceptable intervention strategies for the reduction of dietary AFB exposure are of critical need in populations at high risk for aflatoxicosis. Fermented gruels consisting of cornmeal are a common source for such exposure and are consumed by both children and adults in many countries with a history of frequent, high-level aflatoxin exposure. One proposed method to reduce aflatoxins in the diet is to include a selective enterosorbent, Uniform Particle Size NovaSil (UPSN), as a food additive in contaminated foods. For UPSN to be effective in this capacity, it must be stable in complex, acidic mixtures that are often exposed to heat during the process of fermented gruel preparation. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to test the ability of UPSN to sorb aflatoxin while common cooking conditions were applied. The influence of fermentation, heat treatment, acidity, and processing time were investigated with and without UPSN. Analyses were performed using the field-practical Vicam assay with HPLC verification of trends. Our findings demonstrated that UPSN significantly reduced aflatoxin levels (47-100%) in cornmeal, regardless of processing conditions. Upon comparison of each element tested, time appeared to be the primary factor influencing UPSN efficacy. The greatest decreases in AFB were reported in samples allowed to incubate (with or without fermentation) for 72 hrs. This data suggests that addition of UPSN to staple corn ingredients likely to contain aflatoxins would be a sustainable approach to reduce exposure.
黄曲霉毒素是主粮作物（如玉米和花生）常见的污染物，也是发展中国家食品安全和公众健康的重大隐患。黄曲霉毒素B（AFB）与人类和动物急慢性疾病的病因有关，包括生长发育迟缓、肝癌和死亡。对于黄曲霉毒素中毒高危人群而言，亟需具备成本效益且符合文化习俗的干预策略，以减少膳食中AFB的暴露。由玉米粉制成的发酵粥是此类暴露的常见来源，在许多有频繁、高水平黄曲霉毒素暴露史的国家，儿童和成人都会食用。一种提议的减少膳食中黄曲霉毒素的方法是在受污染食品中添加一种选择性肠吸附剂——均一粒径诺华硅（UPSN）作为食品添加剂。为使UPSN在此方面发挥有效作用，它必须在发酵粥制备过程中经常受热的复杂酸性混合物中保持稳定。因此，本研究的目的是在应用常见烹饪条件的情况下，测试UPSN吸附黄曲霉毒素的能力。研究了有无UPSN时发酵、热处理、酸度和加工时间的影响。使用现场实用的Vicam分析法进行分析，并通过HPLC验证趋势。我们的研究结果表明，无论加工条件如何，UPSN都能显著降低玉米粉中的黄曲霉毒素水平（47 - 100%）。在比较所测试的每个因素时，时间似乎是影响UPSN功效的主要因素。在孵育（无论有无发酵）72小时的样品中报告的AFB降低幅度最大。这些数据表明，在可能含有黄曲霉毒素的主要玉米成分中添加UPSN可能是减少暴露的一种可持续方法。
