Ability of low contents of biosorbents to bind the food carcinogen aflatoxin B1 in vitro

In vitro experiments were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of two new biosorbents (lettuce and field horsetail) in removing aflatoxin B-1 (AFB(1)). Formosa firethorn was used as reference material. The adsorption of AFB(1) (190 ng/mL) was investigated at two sorbent contents (0.5% and 0.1% w/v) and three pHs (2, 5, and 7). Batch experiments were performed at 40 degrees C for 2 h. Several methodologies were used to characterize the nature of the biosorbent-AFB(1) interaction. In general, when using biosorbents at 0.5% w/v, AFB(1) was well adsorbed by the three tested biomaterials (70 to 100%). Furthermore, with the lowest biosorbent content (0.1% w/v), significant AFB(1) adsorption efficiencies were attained at pH 5 (33 to 50%). Nevertheless, at pH 7, lettuce showed the highest ability against AFB(1) removal (95%). Further characterization of the AFB(1)-loaded biosorbents demonstrated that chemical and physical mechanisms were involved in the adsorption process.