Physicochemical alterations enhance the ability of dairy strains of lactic acid bacteria to remove aflatoxin from contaminated media

Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG and Lactobacillus rhamnosus LC-705, previously shown to effectively bind to anatoxin B-1, were subjected to various chemical and physical treatments to examine the effects of these treatments on the binding affinity of these strains towards aflatoxin B-1. Treatment of bacterial pellets of both strains with hydrochloric acid significantly (P < 0.05) enhanced the binding ability when compared to nontreated pellets or pellets treated by other methods. An enhancement of bacterial ability to bind aflatoxin B-1 was also observed when the bacterial pellets were subjected to heat treatment by either autoclaving or boiling at 100 degrees C in a water bath, but the impact of these two treatments was not as effective as the acid treatment. Ethanol, UV radiation, sonication, alkaline, or pH treatments either had no effect or reduced the binding ability of the bacteria.