Food Bioscience, vol.59, 2024 (SCI-Expanded)
Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) is a metabolite of AFB1 that is formed in the liver and excreted in the mammary glands of ruminants who fed an AFB1-contaminated feed. This study focused on the AFM1 binding ability of biological agents including lactic acid bacteria (Leuconostoc mesenteroides) and yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), chitosan as a biopolymer, and inulin as a prebiotic besides their effects on the AFM1 bioaccessibility in milk. Bioaccessibility refers to the amount of a contaminant in food that can reach the systemic circulation and exert its toxic effects on the body. In vitro gastrointestinal digestion model developed by RIVM for specifically mycotoxins was employed for assessing AFM1 bioaccessibility. Moreover, the colon phase was enzymatically simulated to evaluate the state of bound and unbound AFM1 that passed from the intestine to the colon and excreted from the body. Unbound AFM1 levels were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The bound AFM1 percentages after incubation varied between 26.7% and 50.9%, and the best binder was found as S. cerevisiae while chitosan showed the lowest binding level. Following in vitro digestion practice, the lowest bioaccessibility after small intestine (29.30 ± 2.29%) digestion was acquired with S. cerevisiae, however; the lowest bioaccessibility after the colon phase (51.55 ± 3.38%) was acquired with L. mesenteroides. On the other hand, L. mesenteroides and chitosan were found more stable binders through the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). The present results showed that the bound AFM1 levels in food and absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract were affected by natural binders.