Reduction of phytic acid, aflatoxins and other mycotoxins in wheat during germination

Wheat grains are susceptible to infection by various toxigenic fungal species that produce toxic metabolites called mycotoxins. This makes wheat one of the most important daily dietary sources of mycotoxins for consumers. As germination is popularly used to improve the nutritional quality of grains, the present study was carried out to understand its effect on the toxin content of wheat seeds. For this purpose, wheat grains were spiked with ochratoxin A (OTA; 5 μg kg^-1 ), aflatoxins B2 and G2 (5 μg kg^-1 ), zearalenone (ZEA; 20 μg kg^-1 ), aflatoxins B1 and G1 (20 μg kg^-1 ) and deoxynivalenol (DON; 50 μg kg^-1 ) in separate experiments. Thereafter, the grains were germinated and analyzed for toxin content during 14 days of germination using a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method.

ZEA content did not change significantly until 14 days. The maximum reductions of DON, OTA and aflatoxins at days 10-14 of germination were 39, 38, 41 (B1), 60 (B2), 33 (G1) and 62% (G2) respectively. A 63% reduction of phytic acid at 14 days was observed, according to Fe²⁺ bioavailability. For all toxins (except ZEA), there were no significant differences in reduction after day 10.

Germination for 10 days might be sufficient to achieve an appropriate decrease in toxin content. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.