Enzyme-assisted extraction of moniliformin from extruded corn grits

Water has been known to be the ideal solvent for moniliformin but is not suitable to extract this toxin from cooked matrices due to instant swelling upon addition of the solvent. In this study, an improved method to extract moniliformin from extruded corn grits using alpha-amylase was developed. In an effort to optimize the method, the efficacy of using a protease was also studied. Treatment with alpha-amylase resulted in a clear solution with decreased suspended solid content as measured by transmittance (%T), which improved from 0 to 96% in 10 min. The detected level of moniliformin from extruded corn grits was increased to 4.02 mug/g when extracted with 1% tetrabutylammonium hydrogen sulfate following alpha-amylase treatment compared to 2.56 microg/g when it was extracted with 90% acetonitrile without enzyme treatment. The average recovery of moniliformin from extruded corn grits was 96% when alpha-amylase was used in the extraction procedure. Overall, the amounts of moniliformin detected in extruded corn grits increased significantly by using enzyme hydrolysis. Chromatographic separation was also benefited by lesser interference and improved peaks.