Effect of cereal products supplementation with american blueberries, cranberries and cinnamon on the formation of type A and B trichothecenes group.

INTRODUCTION: Mycotoxins - secondary mould metabolites with undesirable effects for humans - are common in the environment. These toxins are mainly produced by fungi of the genera Penicilium, Aspergillus and Fusarium.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the applicability of various sources of antioxidants (blueberries lyophilisate, cranberries lyophilisate and cinnamon powder), at 5 different concentrations (3%, 5%, 10%, 20%, 30%), to inhibit the formation of mycotoxins during the storage of cereal products. Analysed cereal samples included selected cereal grains, bran and cereal products intended for consumption by children.

RESULTS: The results showed that supplementation of oat brans with the highest concentrations of blueberry lyophilisate resulted in a significant decrease in the mycotoxins levels; specifically: 20% concentration reduced the level of HT-2 toxin by 10.7% in one sample, while 30% concentration reduced it by 9.4% and 17.4% in 2 other samples. A similar result was measured for oat bran samples supplemented with the cranberry lyophilisate: specifically, 20% concentration significantly reduced the level of HT-2 toxin by 10.6% in one sample, while 30% concentration reduced it by an average of 18.0% ± 6,0% in 5 other samples. Finally, cinnamon powder supplementation caused a significant reduction in HT-2 levels in all stored samples, even at its lowest concentration. 30% supplementation resulted in HT-2 reduction in cereal samples by 67.1% - 76.1%, in wheat bran samples by 57.5% - 69.2%, in oat bran samples by 83.4% - 87.0% and by 55.0% - 100% in samples of cereal products intended for consumption by children.

CONCLUSIONS: Natural products used in the experiment (blueberry, cranberry, cinnamon) inhibited the formation of mycotoxins from the group of trichothecenes.