Reduction of ochratoxin A from contaminated food by Lactobacillus rhamnosus Bm01

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a secondary fungal metabolite produced by Aspergillus and Penicillium spp. OTA contamination of food and animal feed has been attracting increasing concern in view of its toxicity, such as nephrotoxic, teratogenic, embryotoxic, genotoxic, neurotoxic, carcinogenic, and immunosuppressive effects. The widespread contamination of OTA in food and multiple toxicity of OTA have promoted research on detoxifying OTA in food or feed. The use of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) to remove OTA in food is a highly innovative and promising method compared with traditional methods. In this research, we screened an LAB strain, namely, Lactobacillus rhamnosus Bm01, which can remove 83.58% of OTA (50 ng/mL) within 48 h. The physiological mechanism of OTA removal by L. rhamnosus Bm01 was investigated. L. rhamnosus Bm01 removed OTA mainly by absorption through the cell wall. Furthermore, we applied L. rhamnosus Bm01 to remove OTA in grape juice or ready-to-drink coffee. Approximately 83.87% of 50 ng/mL and 100% of 20 ng/mL OTA in grape juice was removed at 48 h after incubation when treated with L. rhamnosus Bm01, respectively. Results indicated the potential of L. rhamnosus Bm01 in the decontamination of OTA in food industries.