Analytical insights into plasma-driven detoxification: Impact of toxin origin on the degradation of zearalenone, deoxynivalenol, and fumonisins in maize (Zea mays L.)
Microchemical Journal, cilt.219, 2025 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 219
- Basım Tarihi: 2025
- Doi Numarası: 10.1016/j.microc.2025.116268
- Dergi Adı: Microchemical Journal
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, BIOSIS, Chemical Abstracts Core, Chimica, Index Islamicus
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Atmospheric pressure cold plasma, Maize, Detoxification, Deoxynivalenol (DON), Fumonisin (FUMO), Zearalenone (ZON)
- Kırklareli Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Mycotoxins like zearalenone (ZON), deoxynivalenol (DON), and fumonisins pose significant food safety risks globally. Atmospheric pressure cold plasma (APCP) has emerged as a promising, residue-free technology, but its performance is highly dependent on the food matrix, which requires rigorous analytical evaluation. Here, we aimed to determine the detoxification efficiency and degradation kinetics of ZON, DON, and fumonisins (FUMO B₁ and B₂) in maize (Zea mays L.) under three different contamination conditions; naturally contaminated, artificially spiked and standard toxin solutions, by applying APCP using 600 W power, 5 L/min dry air flow rate, and a constant probe-sample distance of 9 cm. Mycotoxin levels were precisely quantified using HPLC-MS/MS after treatment, and degradation kinetics were modeled using the Weibull function. After 16 min of APCP exposure, ZON showed the highest reduction rates, decreasing by 57.9 % in spiked and 43.1 % in naturally contaminated maize. Total FUMO levels also showed a significant decrease by 42.4 % in spiked and 39.0 % in natural matrices. DON degradation was comparable across both matrices, achieving reductions of 29.2 % (spiked) and 27.8 % (natural). The highest detoxification efficiencies were achieved in standard toxin solutions across all groups. The kinetic analysis confirmed a strong fit to the Weibull model (R2 = 0.858–0.996) and, importantly, the treatment did not significantly alter the key nutritional parameters of maize. These findings emphasize that the food matrix significantly influences the APCP detoxification process, confirming APCP as a viable and safe non-thermal treatment while underlining the importance of analytical modelling for optimization in microchemical food applications.