Aflatoxin at several initial concentrations is degraded by different amounts of mycelium of Aspergillus parasiticus.

Increasing amounts of a blendure of 9-day-old mycelia of Aspergillus parasiticus NRRL 2999 added to aflatoxin-salts reaction mixtures resulted in increased rates at which aflatoxin B1 and G1 were degraded. Similarly, increasing the amount(s) of aflatoxin B1 and/or G1 in the aflatoxin-salts reaction mixture resulted in increased rates of degradation of aflatoxins B1 and G1 by mycelia. This mycelial blendure degraded aflatoxin G1 approximately 1.6 times more rapidly than aflatoxin B1 when comparable amounts of the aflatoxins were initially present. When the same mycelial blendure was used to compared combined effects of size of inoculum and initial aflatoxin concentration on aflatoxin degradation, it appeared that increasing the amount of either inoculum or aflatoxin resulted in a comparable increase in degradation of aflatoxin B1 and G1. Hence, doubling the amount of inoculum or of aflatoxin resulted in approximately doubled rates at which aflatoxins B1 and G1 were degraded.