Assessment of the bioaccessibility of aflatoxins from various food matrices using an in vitro digestion model, and the efficacy of probiotic bacteria in reducing bioaccessibility

The present study aims to investigate the bioaccessibility of aflatoxin (AF) from various spiked food matrices (peanut, pistachio, hazelnut, dried figs, paprika, wheat and maize) using an in vitro digestion model under fed conditions. In addition, the effectiveness of six probiotic bacteria in reducing AF bioaccessibility was evaluated with an in vitro digestion model. The bioaccessibility of AFs from seven food matrices ranged from 85.1 to 98.1% for aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), 83.3 to 91.8% for aflatoxin B2 (AFB2), 85.3 to 95.1% for aflatoxin G1 (AFG1) and 80.7 to 91.2% for aflatoxin G2 (AFG2). The bioaccessibilities of all four compounds were independent of the spiking level and food matrix. The inclusion of probiotic bacteria showed significant (p < 0.05) reduction in the bioaccessibility of AFs: up to 35.6% for AFB1, 35.5% for AFB2, 31.9% for AFG1 and 33.6% for AFG2. AF-binding activity of probiotic bacteria in simulated gastrointestinal conditions was reversible, and 10.3–39.8% of bound AFs were released back into the digestion juices from the bacteria–AF complexes.