Microbial Composition of Water Kefir Grains and Their Application for the Detoxification of Aflatoxin B1
Weidong Ouyang,
Zhenlin Liao,
Ximiao Yang,
Xiao Zhang,
Xiaoxuan Zhu,
Qingping Zhong,
Li Wang,
Xiang Fang,
Jie Wang
Affiliations
Weidong Ouyang
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods, College of Food Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
Zhenlin Liao
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods, College of Food Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
Ximiao Yang
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods, College of Food Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
Xiao Zhang
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods, College of Food Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
Xiaoxuan Zhu
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods, College of Food Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
Qingping Zhong
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods, College of Food Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
Li Wang
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods, College of Food Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
Xiang Fang
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods, College of Food Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
Jie Wang
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods, College of Food Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
Water kefir grains (WKGs), the starter used to develop a traditional beverage named water kefir, consist of a symbiotic mixture of probiotics with diverse bioactivities, but little is known about their abilities to remove mycotoxins that have serious adverse effects on humans and animals. This study investigated the ability of WKGs to remove aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), one of the most toxic mycotoxins, under different settings, and determined the mechanism of absorption mediated by WKGs and the effect of WKGs on the toxicity induced by AFB1 and the reduction in AFB1 in cow milk and tea soups. The results showed the WKGs used herein were dominated by Lactobacillus, Acetobacter, Phenylobacterium, Sediminibacterium, Saccharomyces, Issatchenkia, and Kodamaea. HPLC analysis demonstrated that the WKGs effectively removed AFB1 at concentrations ranging from 1 to 5 µg/mL, pH values ranging from 3 to 9, and temperatures ranging from 4 to 45 °C. Additionally, the removal of AFB1 mainly depended on absorption, which was consistent with the Freundlich and pseudo-second-order kinetic models. Moreover, only 49.63% of AFB1 was released from the AFB1-WKG complex after four washes when the release of AFB1 was non-detectable. Furthermore, WKG treatment caused a dramatic reduction in the mutagenicity induced by AFB1 according to an Ames test and reduced more than 54% of AFB1 in cow milk and three tea soups. These results suggested that WKGs can act as a potential bio-absorbent with a high binding ability to detoxify AFB1 in food and feed via a chemical action step and multi-binding sites of AFB1 absorption in a wide range of scenarios.
