Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) contamination is an important issue for the safety of edible oils. Enzymatic degradation is a promising approach for removing mycotoxins in a specific, efficient, and green manner. However, enzymatic degradation of mycotoxins in edible oil is challenging as a result of the low activity and stability of the enzyme. Herein, a novel strategy was proposed to degrade AFB1 in peanut oil using an amphipathic laccase-inorganic hybrid nanoflower (Lac NF-P) as a biocatalyst. Owing to the improved microenvironment of the enzymatic reaction and the enhanced stability of the enzyme structure, the proposed amphipathic Lac NF-P showed 134- and 3.2-fold increases in the degradation efficiency of AFB1 in comparison to laccase and Lac NF, respectively. AFB1 was removed to less than 0.96 μg/kg within 3 h when using Lac NF-P as a catalyst in the peanut oil, with the AFB1 concentration ranging from 50 to 150 μg/kg. Moreover, the quality of the peanut oil had no obvious change, and no leakage of catalyst was observed after the treatment of Lac NF-P. In other words, our study may open an avenue for the development of a novel biocatalyst for the detoxification of mycotoxins in edible oils.
Keywords: aflatoxin B1; enzymatic detoxification; enzyme−inorganic hybrid nanoflower; food safety; peanut oil.