Research Progress on Photocatalytic Degradation of Mycotoxins Based on Semiconductor Materials

Abstract

Mycotoxins are natural potent toxins commonly found at low concentrations in foods. Mycotoxin contamination not only causes economic losses, but also endangers human health. Because mycotoxins are stable and difficult to degrade, they are difficult to remove during food processing, so it is urgent to develop efficient removal technologies for mycotoxins. Photocatalytic degradation technology, a green and economically advanced oxidative sterilization and disinfection technology, has the advantages of environmental friendliness, mild reaction, and high catalytic degradation efficiency. It has been gradually applied to the degradation of mycotoxins. In this article, the basic principle of photocatalytic degradation of mycotoxins is briefly described, and the recent progress in the application of different semiconductor materials to degrade mycotoxins are systematically summarized. Moreover, future prospect are discussed.

Keywords

• mycotoxin; photocatalytic; detoxification; heterojunction