2. Academic Validation
  3. Electrochemical oxidation diminished toxicity of zearalenone significantly, while reduction increased

Electrochemical oxidation diminished toxicity of zearalenone significantly, while reduction increased

  • Food Chem. 2023 Dec 15:429:136768. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2023.136768.
Ming-Hang Yu 1,  Yue-Hong Pang 1,  Cheng Yang 1,  Jun-Wei Liao 1,  Xiao-Fang Shen 2
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Resources, School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China.
  • 2 State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Resources, School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
PMID: 37453332 DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2023.136768
Abstract

Zearalenone (ZEN), one of the most common mycotoxins in cereals, poses a severe health risk to humans. In this study, electrochemical oxidation and reduction degraded ZEN in solution completely within 8 min and 20 min. The structure of ZEN products was elucidated by mass spectrometry (MS), and their toxicity was evaluated by ECOSAR software and cytotoxicity assay. From simulation, electrochemical oxidation products had lower acute and chronic toxicity, and the product at 9.0 V is not harmful (LC50/EC50 greater than 100 mg/L, ChV greater than 10 mg/L). CCK-8 assay further confirmed their less cytotoxicity. To our surprise, LC50, EC50, and ChVs of all electrochemical reduction products were lower than 1 mg/L, and cell viabilities were less than ZEN, meaning the higher toxicity of electrochemical reduction products. On this Basis, electrochemical oxidation was applied in ZEN contaminated wheat with a degradation rate of 92.32 ± 2.37%, indicating its potential to degrade ZEN practically.

Keywords

Cytotoxicity; Electrochemical oxidation; Electrochemical reduction; Toxicity evaluation; Wheat grains; Zearalenone.

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