Identification and toxicological analysis of products of patulin degradation by Pichia caribbica

In this study, we used the yeast Pichia caribbica to degrade patulin effectively. The intermediate degradation products of patulin by P. caribbica were identified as (E)- and (Z)-ascladiol using high performance liquid chromatography and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectroscopy. Only (E)-ascladiol was detected in the products of patulin degradation by intracellular enzymes. Toxic analyses on Escherichia coli Top10 cells, Arabidopsis thaliana, and human esophageal epithelial cells (Het-1a) showed that the intermediate degradation product ascladiol and the final degradation products were significantly less toxic and almost non-toxic compared to patulin (p < 0.05), respectively. Furthermore, toxicological analysis revealed that ascladiol and the final degradation products induced very little reactive oxygen species accumulation in Het-1a cells. Further toxicological analysis revealed that ascladiol and the final degradation products induced cell apoptosis to a lesser extent and did not significantly inhibit cell proliferation (p > 0.05) compared to patulin. Analysis of the characteristics and toxicity of the degradation products of patulin by P. caribbica demonstrate that ascladiol is less toxic and the final degradation products are not poisonous, therefore patulin detoxification strategies using P. caribbica are good approaches to limit the patulin risks.
Source: Biological Control - Category: Biology Source Type: research