Ozonolysis efficiency and safety evaluation of aflatoxin B1 in peanuts

Ozonolysis efficiency of aflatoxin-contaminated peanuts (ACPs) was investigated, and the safety of ACPs untreated/treated by ozone was evaluated after 28-day intragastrically administration in male and female Wistar rats. 89.40% of aflatoxin B-1 (AFB(1)) in peanuts was decomposed by ozone with a concentration of 50 mg/L, flow rate of 5 L/min for 60 h. After 60 h, the ozonolysis efficiency of AFB(1) was not further improved. In the subchronic toxicity experiment, all rats did not have unusual changes in behavior, and no signs of intoxication were observed except for several dead rats due to inappropriate gavage or anesthesia. The results of subchronic toxicity indicated that rats fed on ACPs alone had significantly decreased in body weight gain and feed conversion efficiency. Most serum biochemical indexes of rats had apparently changed compared with those in the negative control, and gender difference significantly affected most indexes of subchronic toxicity except for the ratios of organ to body weight and histopathological observation. Rats fed on ACPs treated by ozone showed significant beneficial health effects. All the results suggested that the deleterious effects of AFB(1) could be highly reduced by ozone, and ozone itself did not show any toxic effects on animals in this processing. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.