Effect of ozone on aflatoxins detoxification and nutritional quality of peanuts

Aflatoxins are a group of secondary metabolites produced by Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus with carcinogenicity, teratogenicity, and mutagenicity. Aflatoxins may be found in a wide range of agri-products, especially in grains, oilseeds, corns, and peanuts. In this study, the conditions for detoxifying peanuts by ozonation were optimised. Aflatoxins in peanuts at moisture content of 5% (w/w) were sensitive to ozone and easily degraded when reacted with 6.0 mg/l of ozone for 30 min at room temperature. The detoxification rates of the total aflatoxins and aflatoxin B-1 (AFB(1)) were 65.8% and 65.9%, respectively. The quality of peanut samples was also evaluated in this research. No significant differences (P > 0.05) were found in the polyphenols, resveratrol, acid value (AV), and peroxide value (PV) between treated and untreated samples. The results suggested that ozonation was a promising method for aflatoxin detoxification in peanuts. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.