Effect of deoxynivalenol detoxification by ozone treatment in wheat grains

•Moisture content is a key factor to determine deoxynivalenol (DON) reduction.•Initial concentration of DON has no significant effect on DON depletion.•The first order kinetic models of exposure time and ozone concentration are proposed.•Wheat kernels had less DON reduction than whole wheat flour.

Considering the wide existence of mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) in wheat and derived products, finding ways to detoxify DON in wheat grains as original resources for food-chain contamination is very important to protect human health and reduce economic losses. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of destroying DON in wheat via ozonation under different conditions, such as moisture content (MC), ozone concentration, exposure time, and form of raw-material. The achieved data showed that DON reduction significantly improved with increased ozone concentration and exposure time. The whole wheat flour (WWF) was easier to degrade than the wheat kernels. Higher MC decreased larger amounts of DON. The maximum reduction of DON was 20.10% for the MC group, compared with the 11.79% and 16.29% for the other MC groups. DON concentration decreased from 3.89 mg/kg to 0.83 mg/kg under the generally recognized Maximum Residue Limit (MRL) level of 1 mg/kg, when WWF was treated with 100 mg/L of ozone treatment for 60 min. The first-order kinetic model established in this work showed a good R-squared value (R2 > 0.877) and was consistent with the results. Therefore, ozonation is an effective and rapid way to degrade DON in wheat, especially in whole wheat flour.