Probiotic-based mycotoxin detoxification in poultry feed: mechanisms, efficacy, challenges, and future directions for...

Mycotoxin contamination remains a significant challenge to poultry health and productivity globally. Conventional detoxification methods, such as chemical adsorption and thermal degradation, are often limited by high costs, nutrient losses, and incomplete toxin removal. In contrast, probiotics offer a promising biological alternative for mycotoxin detoxification. This review critically evaluates the role of probiotics, such as Lactobacillus, Bacillus, and Saccharomyces, in mitigating mycotoxin toxicity through mechanisms of adsorption to cell wall polysaccharides and enzymatic degradation. Probiotic strains Lactobacillus casei and Saccharomyces cerevisiae achieve adsorption efficiencies exceeding 90% for aflatoxins B (AFB₁), while Bacillus strains have demonstrated up to 65% reduction in deoxynivalenol levels in vitro. The detoxification efficacy of probiotics is highly strain- and dose-dependent, with reductions in AFB₁ residues ranging from 30 to 60% in poultry tissue during in vivo trials. While adsorption is well established, the in vivo enzymatic degradation mechanisms remain underexplored, with some strains showing up to a 40% reduction in toxin residues through enzymatic biotransformation. Additionally, emerging strategies using microbial consortia and genetically modified probiotics show promising results, with consortia reducing toxin loads by 40-65% in field trials. However, large-scale validation and consistent performance in commercial poultry production remain limited. This review identifies critical research gaps, including strain selection, biofilm regulation, and the need for standardized field-level efficacy trials. Probiotic-based detoxification is positioned as a biologically sustainable complement to, rather than a complete replacement for, conventional chemical methods, offering potential for safer feed and improved poultry health within a broader food safety framework.