AMINO ACID BINDING TO AFLATOXIN B1 DURING A NOVEL FOOD TREATMENT PROCESS PROTECTS AGAINST GENOTOXICITY

Access to clean food is a crucial factor in maintaining public health. Contamination of food supplies with toxic substances can lead to a myriad of health issues. As a mycotoxin , aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is a naturally occurring toxin that contaminates a staggering amount of the world's food supply. Even more concerning is that AFB1 is a class 1 carcinogen and contributes heavily to the development of the world's incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma. Many strategies have been developed to detoxify contaminated food in an attempt to mitigate AFB1 exposure , however this has been met with limited success. This dissertation covers our knowledge of AFB1's toxicity , the current state of AFB1 occurrence in food , and previous detoxification strategies along with their advantages and disadvantages. Our experimental goals were to investigate the potential of a novel detoxification strategy that utilizes the formation of a nontoxic intermediate , aflatoxin B2a (AFB2a). The chemical reaction between AFB2a and amino acids was evaluated and incorporated into the treatment process to produce a novel detoxification product , abolishing the characteristic genotoxicity of AFB1. This process was carried out using additives that are approved for human consumption with a method that does not require complex equipment. Additionally , this process removed all detectable levels of AFB1 on artificially contaminated corn , forming only a single product. These properties offer great advantages over previously proposed detoxification methods which lends a great potential for this treatment method to be used by various populations to provide clean and safe foods