Reduction of Mycotoxins during Fermentation of Whole Grain Sorghum to Whole Grain <i>Ting</i> (a Southern African Food)

oleh: Oluwafemi Ayodeji Adebo, Eugenie Kayitesi, Patrick Berka Njobeh

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2019-03-01

Deskripsi

Mycotoxins are fungal secondary metabolites that pose health risks to exposed individuals, requiring necessary measures to reduce them. Using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), mycotoxins were quantified in whole grain sorghum and <i>ting</i> subsequently derived from two sorghum varieties (high and low tannin). The whole grain (WG) <i>ting</i> samples were obtained by fermenting sorghum with <i>Lactobacillus fermentum</i> strains (FUA 3165 and FUA 3321). Naturally (spontaneously) fermented WG-<i>ting</i> under the same conditions were equally analysed. Among the mycotoxins investigated, fumonisin B<sub>1</sub> (FB<sub>1</sub>), B<sub>2</sub> (FB<sub>2</sub>), B<sub>3</sub> (FB<sub>3</sub>), T-2 toxin (T-2), zearalenone (ZEA), alpha-zearalenol (&#945;-ZOL) and beta-zearalenol (&#946;-ZOL) were detected in sorghum. Results obtained showed that mycotoxin concentrations significantly (<i>p</i> &#8804; 0.05) reduced after fermentation. In particular, <i>L. fermentum</i> FUA 3321 showed the capability to significantly (<i>p</i> &#8804; 0.05) reduce all the mycotoxins by 98% for FB<sub>1</sub>, 84% for T-2 and up to 82% for &#945;-ZOL, compared to raw low tannin sorghum. Fermenting with the <i>L. fermentum</i> strains showed potential to effectively reduce mycotoxin contamination in whole grain <i>ting</i>. Thus, we recommended <i>L. fermentum</i> FUA 3321 in particular to be used as a potential starter culture in sorghum fermentation.