UV light treatment (278 nm) for detoxification of aflatoxins and application in edible and medicinal herb coix seed

Aflatoxins (AFs) are highly toxic and cancer-causing compounds, which could be commonly found in agricultural products and feeds. However, different tactics for detoxification have significant limitations due to their unsuitability for use. In this study, an LED UV curing system (wavelength: 278 nm, irradiation energy: 100%, irradiation time: 10 min) could effectively reduce pure aflatoxin B-1 (AFB(1)), pure aflatoxin B-2 (AFB(2)) and pure aflatoxin G(1) (AFG(1)) (detoxification rates are more than 80%). In addition, in vitro biocompatibility tests indicate that the hypertoxicity of the obtained AFs-degraded solutions was significantly reduced, which might be because the unsaturated ketone structure in AFB(1), AFB(2) and AFG(1) was broken. Moreover, in processed coix seed and dried boat-fruited Sterculia seed samples, the amount of AF was greatly reduced, and the rate of degradation was more than 85% with irradiation for 30 min. These data adequately implied that the current work might offer a practical way to detoxify AFs in various medicinal plants and foods.