Aflatoxin decontamination of artificially contaminated maize by ozone and microwave at different pH

The most important main food crop in Tanzania, maize, is susceptible to contamination with dangerous fungi and toxins, with aflatoxin B 1 (AFB 1 ) being one of the most common and perilous. The purpose of this study was to determine how well ozone and microwaves, alone or in combination, could decontaminate aflatoxin B 1 (AFB 1 ) at different pH. A viability test was performed on wild-type Aspergillus flavus strain acquired from grain before their growth on potato dextrose agar. Spores were harvested, transferred to moist maize grain, and incubated to produce aflatoxins B 1 . AFB 1 -contaminated maize samples were subjected to ozone (6 mg/hour), microwave treatment (500 W), and a combination of these treatments at different pH values (7.0, 8.5, and 10.5). At pH 7, the lowest decontamination rate was observed, while at pH 8.5 and 10.5, the decontamination rates varied between 5.43 and 100 %. Microwave alone showed the least decontamination efficiency (21.2 %) compared to ozone which decontaminated AFB 1 completely. The combination of microwave and ozone showed high decontamination at pH 8.5 of about 99.89 % and that of ozone and microwave combination showed a complete removal of aflatoxin B 1 at pH 10.5 (100 %). Through lactone ring modifications and the instability of the C8–C9 double bond of the aflatoxin's moiety, the imposed alkaline condition predicted the decontamination process. Therefore, compared to microwave, ozonation was more effective at reducing aflatoxin B 1 at a pH of 10.5. The findings of this investigation are projected to yield data that will inform and strengthen interventions designed to reduce aflatoxin presence in food matrices.