Toxicity reduction of ochratoxin A by lactic acid bacteria

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a mycotoxin produced by the metabolism of fungus belonging to the genus Aspergillus and Penicillium. In this paper we report, the capacity of different cultures of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) to degrade OTA present in MRS broth at both pH 3.5 and 6.5. A study of OTA reduction during gastrointestinal digestion carried out with the LAB was also performed. Taking into account the two reduction mechanisms of OTA studied in this work as the enzymatic one and the adsorption on the cell wall, as well as at pH 3.5 and 6.5 the reduction values of OTA were in a range of 30-99%, being the strains with greater reduction (97% and 95%) Lb. rhamnosus CECT 278T and Lb. plantarum CECT 749 respectively. In the experiments carried out digesting the OTA in MRS medium with LAB, the highest bioaccessibility reduction was observed by the strain of Lb. johnsonii CECT 289, showing a mean reduction around all the gastrointestinal digestion process of 97.4%. The mass spectrometry associated to the linear ion trap method identified ochratoxin alpha (OTα) m/z = 256.1 and phenylalanine (Phe) m/z = 166.1 as the major metabolites of OTA degradation in LAB cultures.