Evaluation of pulsed light (PL) on degradation kinetics of aflatoxins and retention of nutrients in groundnut oilcake

Pulsed light (PL) technology, a photonic innovation characterized by high-intensity, short-duration light pulses, enhances photochemical reactions through instantaneous energy delivery and has emerged as a promising novel non-thermal technology for inactivating pathogenic bacteria and degrading associated toxins in food. In this study, the efficacy of PL exposure in degrading aflatoxins was investigated and the nutritional quality of cold- and hot- pressed groundnut oilcake was also assessed. Under optimal process conditions (500 J pulse energy, 9 cm lamp-to-sample distance, and 480 s exposure duration), 81 % degradation of aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁) and 75 % total aflatoxins degradation from initial levels of 160 μg/kg (80 μg/kg AFB₁). Crude protein and amino acid composition exhibited no significant alterations, indicating preservation of nutritional value. PL irradiation effectively integrates mycotoxin control with functional constituent preservation, highlighting its potential for scalable implementation in oilseed processing operations and providing a promising non-thermal treatment technology for industrial food safety applications.