Aflatoxin is degraded by heated and unheated mycelia, filtrates of homogenized mycelia and filtrates of broth cultures of Aspergillus parasiticus.
Steaming one-half of a lot of 9-day-old mycelia of Aspergillus parasiticus NRRL 2999 for 6 min resulted in little or no subsequent degradation of aflatoxin B1 or G1 by these mycelia. The other half of these mycelia was not heat-treated and degraded aflatoxins B1 and G1. Filtrates of the growth substrate which remained after the mycelium was removed from 8- to 15-day old cultures of A. parasiticus NRRL 2999 did not degrade substantial amounts of aflatoxin B1 or G1, whereas mycelia originally produced on these filtrates degraded substantial amounts of both aflatoxins. The supernatant fluid from homogenates of 9-day-old mycelia of A. parasiticus NRRL 2999 degraded aflatoxins B1 and G1 when 0.1 M or 1.0 M phosphate buffer, pH 6.5, was used to suspend the homogenate. These data support the hypothesis that the aflatoxin degrading factor(s) present in the mycelium of A. parasiticus is/are enzyme(s) or at least influenced by enzyme(s).