Enzymes for Degradation of Aflatoxin B1 and Ochratoxin A.

The contamination of agricultural products with mycotoxins causes risks to animal and human health and severe economic losses. Mycotoxicoses can be reduced by preventing fungal infection using chemical and biological approaches. The chemical strategies can release toxic molecules; therefore, strategies for biological control are being evaluated, such as using nontoxic fungi and their metabolites. This work evaluated the effect of exoenzymes produced by the beneficial fungus strain T22 in degrading Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and Ochratoxin A (OTA). The ability of to produce hydrolases was stimulated by using different inducing substrates. The highest AFB1 and OTA degradation activity was obtained using a medium containing lyophilized mushrooms and crude fiber. The T22's ability to reduce mycotoxins may be attributed to peroxidase enzymes. This study showed that strain T22 or its peroxidase supplementation could represent a sustainable strategy for the degradation of AFB1 and OTA in feed and food products.