Ozone treatment to reduce deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZEN) contamination in wheat bran and its impact on nutritional quality

Wheat bran is an important source for human and animal feed. Its nutritional aspects include a high content of fibre and minerals, as well as phenolic compounds that help prevent chronic diseases. However, wheat can be susceptible to contamination by fungus, which can produce mycotoxins such as deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZEN), causing adverse health effects. Therefore, methods should be developed to reduce possible contamination. Ozone can be used for this purpose as it is considered safe and environmental friendly. The aim of this study was to evaluate the reduction of DON and ZEN concentrations in wheat bran using the ozonation process as well as to evaluate the effect of ozonation on the nutritional quality of bran. Considering this, wheat bran naturally contaminated with both DON and ZEN was processed using ozone at different conditions. The nutritional quality of the bran was evaluated after processing considering the following aspects: the total phenolic content and the bran antioxidant capacity (by using both DPPH and ABTS radicals). The results showed that the degradation of ZEN was higher and faster than the degradation of DON, which could be explained by their molecular structures. The total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity of the bran were not affected by the ozonation process, which is preferable from a nutritional point of view. Therefore, ozonation was demonstrated to be a possible method for reducing mycotoxins in wheat bran, although more studies are needed in order to better understand and optimise processing and product quality.