Detoxification of the Fumonisin Mycotoxins in Maize: An Enzymatic Approach

Johanna Alberts; Gerd Schatzmayr; Wulf-Dieter Moll; Ibtisaam Davids; John Rheeder; Hester-Mari Burger; Gordon Shephard; Wentzel Gelderblom

doi:10.3390/toxins11090523

Detoxification of the Fumonisin Mycotoxins in Maize: An Enzymatic Approach

Toxins (Basel). 2019 Sep 10;11(9):523. doi: 10.3390/toxins11090523.

Authors

Johanna Alberts¹, Gerd Schatzmayr², Wulf-Dieter Moll³, Ibtisaam Davids^{4

5}, John Rheeder⁶, Hester-Mari Burger⁷, Gordon Shephard⁸, Wentzel Gelderblom^{9

10}

Affiliations

¹ Mycotoxicology Research Group, Institute of Biomedical and Microbial Biotechnology, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Bellville 7535, South Africa. albertsh@cput.ac.za.
² BIOMIN Research Center, BIOMIN, Technopark 1, 3430 Tulln, Austria. gerd.schatzmayr@biomin.net.
³ BIOMIN Research Center, BIOMIN, Technopark 1, 3430 Tulln, Austria. dieter.moll@biomin.net.
⁴ Mycotoxicology Research Group, Institute of Biomedical and Microbial Biotechnology, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Bellville 7535, South Africa. 3343572@myuwc.ac.za.
⁵ Department of Biomedical Science, University of the Western Cape, Bellville 7535, South Africa. 3343572@myuwc.ac.za.
⁶ Mycotoxicology Research Group, Institute of Biomedical and Microbial Biotechnology, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Bellville 7535, South Africa. rheederjp@cput.ac.za.
⁷ Mycotoxicology Research Group, Institute of Biomedical and Microbial Biotechnology, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Bellville 7535, South Africa. burgerh@cput.ac.za.
⁸ Mycotoxicology Research Group, Institute of Biomedical and Microbial Biotechnology, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Bellville 7535, South Africa. shephardg@cput.ac.za.
⁹ Mycotoxicology Research Group, Institute of Biomedical and Microbial Biotechnology, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Bellville 7535, South Africa. gelderblomw@cput.ac.za.
¹⁰ Department of Biochemistry, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch 7600, South Africa. gelderblomw@cput.ac.za.

Abstract

Enzymatic detoxification has become a promising approach for control of mycotoxins postharvest in grains through modification of chemical structures determining their toxicity. In the present study fumonisin esterase FumD (EC 3.1.1.87) (FUMzyme^®; BIOMIN, Tulln, Austria), hydrolysing fumonisin (FB) mycotoxins by de-esterification, was utilised to develop an enzymatic reduction method in a maize kernel enzyme incubation mixture. Efficacy of the FumD FB reduction method in "low" and "high" FB contaminated home-grown maize was compared by monitoring FB₁ hydrolysis to the hydrolysed FB₁ (HFB₁) product utilising a validated LC-MS/MS analytical method. The method was further evaluated in terms of enzyme activity and treatment duration by assessing enzyme kinetic parameters and the relative distribution of HFB₁ between maize kernels and the residual aqueous environment. FumD treatments resulted in significant reduction (≥80%) in "low" (≥1000 U/L, p < 0.05) and "high" (100 U/L, p < 0.05; ≥1000 U/L, p < 0.0001) FB contaminated maize after 1 h respectively, with an approximate 1:1 µmol conversion ratio of FB₁ into the formation of HFB₁. Enzyme kinetic parameters indicated that, depending on the activity of FumD utilised, a significantly (p < 0.05) higher FB₁ conversion rate was noticed in "high" FB contaminated maize. The FumD FB reduction method in maize could find application in commercial maize-based practices as well as in communities utilising home-grown maize as a main dietary staple and known to be exposed above the tolerable daily intake levels.

Keywords: enzymatic detoxification; enzyme kinetics; fumonisin; fumonisin esterase FumD; maize.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Esterases / chemistry*
Food Contamination / prevention & control*
Fumonisins / chemistry*
Hydrolysis
Zea mays*

Substances

Fumonisins
Esterases