The Adsorption Ability of NCFM to Benzo(a)pyrene in PM.

The objective of this work was to explore the ability of lactic acid bacteria strains to bind benzo(a)pyrene (B(a)P) existing in PM. In this study, we examined the ability of NCFM to bind B(a)P in the simulated PM environment. Among the tested 5 strains, NCFM exhibited the best capacity to bind B(a)P, and its B(a)P binding percentage was 60.00%. Simulations of organic and inorganic systems which represent PM indicated that B(a)P could be absorbed by strain NCFM. For the inorganic system of pH 5, NCFM bound 92.74% B(a)P with a cell concentration of 1 × 10 cfu/mL at 37°C for 8 hr. Regarding the organic system with pH 6, 73.00% B(a)P was bound by strain NCFM after this bacterium was incubated at 37°C for 10 min. A quick B(a)P binding by this probiotic bacterium took place in the organic system. The removal of B(a)P from PM was significantly related to incubation time, cultivation temperature, pH, and cell concentration. Thus, our finding shows that long-term consumption of NCFM is beneficial for the reduction of B(a)P towards the population who are exposed to PM, although the ability of this bacterium to adsorb B(a)P is partly affected by the differences in the origin of PM.