Detoxification of aflatoxin M1 by probiotics Saccharomyces boulardii, Lactobacillus casei, and Lactobacillus acidophilus in reconstituted milk

AIM: The current study aimed to remove aflatoxin from reconstituted milk by adding three probiotics, namely Saccharomyces boulardii, Lactobacillus casei, and Lactobacillus acidophilus. BACKGROUND: Aflatoxins are poisonous substances produced by certain kinds of fungi that are found naturally all over the world. They can contaminate food crops and pose a serious health threat to humans and livestock. Microbial detoxification is one method of eliminating aflatoxins, including aflatoxin M1. METHODS: For this purpose, about 109 and 107 cfu/ml of S. boulardii, L. casei, and L. acidophilus were inoculated into skim milk without aflatoxin M1. The samples were then spiked by aflatoxin M1 in concentrations of 0.5 and 0.75 ng/ml. The concentration of the aflatoxin residing in supernatant of milk samples after different storage times (30 and 90 minutes) and temperatures of 4 ℃ and 37 °C was measured by ELISA method, and the results were confirmed by HPLC. RESULTS: The results showed that the highest amount of aflatoxin M1 removal was related to S. boulardii (96.88 ± 3.79c) with a microbial density concentration of 109 cfu/ml and toxin concentration of 0.75 ng/ml at 37 °C for 90 minutes and then to L. acidophilus (71.46 ± 3.79b) with a microbial density concentration of 107 cfu/ml and toxin concentration 0.75 ng/ml at 4 °C for 90 minutes. Furthermore, the maximum level of AFM1 binding to 107 cfu/ml of L. casei with average binding percentages of 64.31 ± 3/79c was 0.75 ng/ml at 37 °C for 90 minutes. CONCLUSION: The results revealed the possibility of using S. boulardii in combination with the selected probiotics of L. casei and L. acidophilus in the detoxification of AFM1-contaminated milk.