Decrease in Aflatoxin M1 Concentration in Milk during Cholesterol Removal by Application of β-Cyclodextrin

Toxins (Basel). 2022 May 29;14(6):379. doi: 10.3390/toxins14060379.

Abstract

Approximately one-third of humankind is chronically exposed to the carcinogenic aflatoxin M1 contained in milk. As β-cyclodextrin is frequently used in the food industry, its effect on aflatoxin M1 concentration was investigated during cholesterol removal from milk due to the similarity among the physicochemical properties of aflatoxin M1 and cholesterol. Moreover, the elimination of cholesterol using β-cyclodextrin has been successfully applied in many studies without any substantial effect on the quality of the treated milk. Therefore, milk samples were spiked with aflatoxin M1 within the range from 0.20 to 2.00 µg/kg, and cholesterol removal was carried out by 2.0% (w/w) β-cyclodextrin addition, as this concentration is enough for the sufficient removal of cholesterol. It was found that the mean cholesterol concentration decreased by 92.3%, while the aflatoxin M1 concentration decreased to 0.53 ± 0.04 µg/kg, i.e., by 39.1% after treatment (n = 2). This mitigation procedure itself is easy and inexpensive and thus is fully applicable with a high potential for complete decontamination of aflatoxin M1 milk. This method will therefore considerably improve the food safety issues associated with aflatoxin M1 presence in milk and dairy products.

Keywords: aflatoxin M1; cholesterol; food safety; milk; mitigation procedure; β-cyclodextrin.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aflatoxin M1* / analysis
  • Animals
  • Cholesterol
  • Food Contamination / analysis
  • Food Contamination / prevention & control
  • Milk / chemistry
  • beta-Cyclodextrins*

Substances

  • beta-Cyclodextrins
  • Aflatoxin M1
  • Cholesterol

Grants and funding

This publication was supported by the Operational program Integrated Infrastructure within the project: Demand-driven research for the sustainable and innovative food, Drive4SIFood 313011V336, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund, and Slovak Research and Development Agency, grant APVV-18-0061.