Short communication The in vitro ability of different Saccharomyces cerevisiae e Based products to bind aflatoxin B 1 Bruna Leonel Gonçalves 1 , Roice Eliana Rosim 1 , Carlos Augusto Fernandes de Oliveira 1 , Carlos Humberto Corassin * Department of Food Engineering, School of Animal Science and Food Engineering, University of S~ ao Paulo, Av. Duque de Caxias Norte, 225, CEP 13635-900, Pirassununga, SP, Brazil article info Article history: Received 25 April 2014 Received in revised form 7 July 2014 Accepted 15 July 2014 Available online 22 July 2014 Keywords: AFB 1 Saccharomyces cerevisiae Yeast-based products Decontamination Binding abstract The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ability of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (SC) e based products from sugar cane fermentation (dried yeast e DY, autolyzed yeast e AY, cell wall e CW) and from beer fermentation (brewery dehydrated residue e BDR) to bind aflatoxin B 1 (AFB 1 ) in phosphate buffer saline (PBS) spiked with 0.5 mg AFB 1 mL 1 . All SC cells were heat-killed (121  C, 10 min) and then used for checking the effect of contact time (5, 10, 20 and 30 min) on toxin binding capacity. Compared to the CW and BDR treatments, DY and AY had higher (p < 0.05) capability to bind AFB 1 in PBS, although there were no differences (p > 0.05) among the contact times for any product evaluated. The mean percentages of AFB 1 bound by the DY were higher than AY, varying from 96.5% to 99.3% and from 90.4% to 97.5%, respectively, although the differences were not significant (p > 0.05). The SC-based products from sugar cane fermentation have a potential application for reducing levels of AFB 1 in contaminated food prod- ucts. However, additional studies are needed to investigate the mechanisms involved in the removal process of toxin by SC and factors that affect toxin sequestration aiming the commercial application in food industry. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Aflatoxins are secondary metabolites of low molecular weight produced by filamentous fungi, particularly Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus parasiticus and Aspergillus nomius, distinguished by their wide distribution in food and pronounced toxic properties (Moss, 1998). There are currently 18 similar compounds described by the term aflatoxin, but the most prevalent and toxic is the aflatoxin B 1 (AFB 1 )(Murphy, Hendrich, Landgren, & Bryant, 2006). Domestic and laboratory species are sensitive to the acute toxic, mutagenic and carcinogenic effects of these compounds, with the liver as the target organ (Oliveira & Corr^ ea, 2010). Aflatoxins are also of great importance for the Public Health, as they are considered as one of the factors involved in the etiology of the human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), as a consequence of the ingestion of contami- nated foods. This disease represents more than 80% of primary malignant tumors of the liver, and it is the 7th to 9th most common type of cancer worldwide affecting men and women, respectively (Oliveira & Corassin, 2014). Ideally, the best way to prevent aflatoxin contamination in the food chain is the adoption of improved agricultural practices and control of storage conditions of products. However, practical diffi- culties to effectively prevent contamination, along with the sta- bility of aflatoxins under normal food processing conditions, have led to investigation on decontamination methods for food products (Wu et al. 2009). The use of microorganisms offers an attractive alternative for the control or elimination of aflatoxins in foodstuffs (Alberts, Gelderblomb, Botha, & van Zyl, 2009; Corassin, Bovo, Rosim, & Oliveira, 2013), being Saccharomyces cerevisiae (SC) one of the most effective for binding AFB 1 (Shetty & Jespersen, 2006). Prod- ucts based on SC (cell wall from baker and brewer yeasts, inacti- vated baker yeast, or alcohol yeast) have been studied, showing that in pH 3, at 37  C and 15 min of contact, the removal of AFB 1 ranged from 2.5% to 49.3%, depending on the concentration of the toxin in the medium, and on the yeast-based product used (Joannis-Cassan, Tozlovanu, Hadjeba-Medjdoub, Ballet, & Pfohl-Leszkowicz, 2011). Taking into consideration its huge availability worldwide, especially in the sugar cane and beer fermentation process, SC- * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ55 19 3565 4173; fax: þ55 19 3565 4114. E-mail addresses: carloscorassin@gmail.com, carloscorassin@usp.br (C.H. Corassin). 1 Tel.: þ55 19 3565 4179; fax: þ55 19 3565 4284. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Food Control journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/foodcont http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2014.07.024 0956-7135/© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Food Control 47 (2015) 298e300