Investigating probiotic yoghurt to reduce an aflatoxin B1 biomarker among school children in eastern Kenya: Preliminary study

Aflatoxin exposure remains a health problem in developing countries. The mean concentration of aflatoxin B1 in maize meal samples from eastern Kenya of 17.4 ppb verified that the food was contaminated. A probiotic yoghurt was created containing aflatoxin B1 binding Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1 and Weissella cibaria NN20 isolated from fermented kimere, a dough food product made from millet. Forty primary school children, with maize being a regular part of their diet, were randomly assigned to consume 200 mL yoghurt or control milk daily for 7 days, followed by a 7 day washout and another 7 day treatment. After both 7 day treatment periods, aflatoxin metabolite 1 concentration in urine samples was significantly lower than baseline in the probiotic group (P > 0.01), but increased in the milk group. The findings were confirmed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). This suggests that locally produced probiotic yoghurt may reduce aflatoxin poisoning in Kenyan children.