Mitigation of zearalenone in vitro using probiotic strains

Zearalenone (ZEN), a hazardous secondary metabolite produced by Fusarium, possesses an estrogen-like structure that triggers early pubertal changes and estrogenic diseases in animals. This research explores how physically treated Lactobacillus strains adsorb ZEN. According to the findings, four Lactobacillus strains—L1 (Lactobacillus plantae), L2 (Lactobacillus plantarum), L8 (Lactobacillus paracasei), and L9 (Lactobacillus acidophilus)—demonstrated evidence of ZEN adsorption and degradation in a 0.9% NaCl solution. Their activity ranged from 73% to 80% after 1 h, increasing to 86%–90% after 24 h. Among them, L9 exhibited the highest percentage of ZEN adsorption (90.39%), followed by L2 (88.68%), L1 (86.49%), and L8 (86.14%). Furthermore, LCMS/MS analysis revealed the involvement of the L8 and L1 strains in the degradation of ZEN into zearalenone sulfate (m/z 397.06) and α-zearalanol (α-ZAL m/z 321.13). According to FTIR analyses, the principal functional groups such as amides (C–N, CO), carboxyls (O–H, CO, or C–O), and alcohols (O–H) remained unaltered following ZEN adsorption, in comparison to heat-treated cells. These findings suggest that ZEN is hydrophobically adsorbed by Lactobacillus strains. Lactobacillus strains exhibited better ZEN reduction 87.27% and 91.7% after heat treatment, leading to modified bacterial cell shapes. Therefore, these four Lactobacillus strains could be considered natural adsorbents for removing ZEN from food products and feedstuffs.