Creating novel approaches to mitigate aflatoxin risk in food and feed with lactic acid bacteria: Fungal growth inhibition
Aflatoxins, produced by Aspergillus fungi, are ubiquitous toxins and they can present a severe health risk to humans and animals if contaminated food and feed is consumed. Fungi live in the soil and on the surface of the crop and Aspergillus species are dominant in favorable conditions of mai...
| Autores principales: | , , |
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| Formato: | Póster |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
International Livestock Research Institute
2014
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/42247 |
| Sumario: | Aflatoxins, produced by Aspergillus fungi,
are ubiquitous toxins and they can present
a severe health risk to humans and
animals if contaminated food and feed
is consumed. Fungi live in the soil and
on the surface of the crop and Aspergillus
species are dominant in favorable conditions
of maize cultivation areas. A novel
biological method could reduce the health
risks of aflatoxins through inhibiting mold
growth and thus aflatoxin production. Lactic
acid bacteria (LAB) are commonly used
in fermented food production; they are
also known to inhibit mold growth. Mold
growth inhibition by certain LAB strains
may be caused by competition for living
conditions between bacterial cells and fungi
and/or production of antifungal compounds
such as organic acids. 200 LAB
strains of bacteria have been isolated from
21 different indigenous fermented dairy
and cereal products prepared locally in different
parts of Kenya. These strains are being
tested for their growth inhibition abilities
against aflatoxin producing Aspergillus
fungi in laboratory conditions. Later, these
same effective strains will be tested in various
food and feed matrices against Aspergillus
growth and then the ones with most
potential will be identified. Novel biological
methods can have a role in preventing
toxic effects of aflatoxins in food and feed.
Exploitation of LAB is a good option for
existing methods as LAB are generally recognized
as safe. |
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