YEASTS AS BIOLOGICAL DETOXIFIERS OF MYCOTOXINS IN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE – A Review

Abstract

Some filamentous fungi produce mycotoxins as their secondary metabolites. They are highly toxic compounds that are extremely harmful to agricultural produce such as grains, nuts, and fruits. Most mycotoxins pose serious threats to human and animal health. The increase in population worldwide and the enlargement of the major planting area of agricultural products every year, as also increase mycotoxin contamination of these products. The common techniques adopted to lower the limit to a safe level include chemical treatments (acids, bases), physical treatments (boiling, roasting), biological control (plants, animals. and microorganisms). To prevent the use of antifungal chemicals, biocontrol using microbes such as bacteria and fungi could be a feasible alternative. There is a need for biological control strategies using microorganisms such as yeasts. They are safe, non-toxic, without side effects, and maintain the nutritional quality of agricultural products. The cell walls of yeast comprise polysaccharides of glucose (glucans), glycosidic proteins, chitin, and mannans. The mode of action of detoxification by yeast is due to the attachment of mycotoxins to the components of its cell wall. The enzymatic degradation activity that occurs biologically includes glucosylation, acetylation, ring cleavage, hydrolysis, decarboxylation and deamination, caused by the enzymes produced from the yeasts. The use of yeast strains having high mycotoxin binding effects could be a necessary alternative for detoxification of mycotoxins in agricultural produce. This review aimed to summarize the detoxification of mycotoxins by yeasts in diverse dimensions: biodegradation, bioadsorption and the inhibition of mycotoxin production.