Corn is frequently contaminated by the fungal toxin aflatoxin B1, a highly potent carcinogen produced by the fungus Aspergillus flavus.
Exposure to aflatoxin poses serious health risks to humans and other animals, and presents economic challenges to agricultural industries. However, due to the highly transmissible nature of the fungus coupled with the toxicity of the toxin, studying and developing control techniques in a laboratory setting can be difficult.
In a new study published in the journal Toxins, researchers at Arizona State University and their international colleagues have demonstrated a promising sterilization technique that uses X-ray irradiation to reduce Aspergillus flavus viability in contaminated corn. This method achieves sterilization without degrading the harmful aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) produced by the fungus.
By disabling Aspergillus flavus, the method stops the fungus from transmitting spores and producing more aflatoxins. This is crucial to allowing more laboratories to join the fight against fungal toxin prevention and control. Stabilizing toxin levels allows scientists to develop and test additional remediation techniques that target aflatoxin degradation without the complication of ongoing fungal growth. Results showed that a small dose of radiation shut down the fungal growth of Aspergillus flavus.
This work is part of a larger effort from Arizona State University researchers and international partners, supported by the National Institutes of Health, to identify low-cost approaches to mitigate aflatoxin transmission and exposure among marginalized communities.
“We have known about aflatoxin since the 1960s, yet it is still a pervasive problem,” says Hannah Glesener, lead author of the new study. “X-ray irradiating naturally contaminated corn is an exciting step that supports our research team’s work on developing solutions for aflatoxin-related challenges, such as chronic malnutrition.”
Glesener is a graduate research assistant in the Biodesign Center for Health Through Microbiomes and a biological design PhD student in ASU’s School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy.
The team is now evaluating household-level cooking strategies for controlling this fungal toxin as well as the role of the human gut microbiome in potentially detoxifying foods prior to absorption into the bloodstream.
Study overview
The main objective of the study, led by corresponding author and Assistant Research Professor Lee Voth-Gaeddert, was to determine the optimal irradiation dose needed to eliminate fungal viability while preserving aflatoxin B1 concentrations for subsequent detoxification studies.
These results open new avenues for safely handling and researching contaminated food products without compromising the structural and chemical properties essential for scientific analysis. It may lead to new approaches for scalable and effective solutions to mycotoxin contamination applicable across various regions, particularly in developing countries where food safety measures are often limited.
