Edible fungi efficiently degrade aflatoxin B1 in cereals and improve their nutritional composition by solid-state fermentation.

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is extremely harmful to human and livestock. Laccase, a green catalyst, has been shown to effectively degrade AFB1 and can be obtained from edible fungi. The objective of this study was to screen edible fungi with high laccase activity and determine their effects on the degradation of AFB1 in cereals and the nutritional composition of the cereals through solid-state fermentation. Results from plate assays confirmed that 51 of the 55 tested edible fungi could secrete laccase. Submerged fermentation results showed that 17 of the 51 edible fungi had maximum laccase activity exceeding 100 U/L. The growth of different edible fungi varied significantly in corn, rice and wheat. More importantly, 6 edible fungi with high laccase activity and good growth could efficiently degrade AFB1 in cereals. We found for the first time that Ganoderma sinense could not only secrete highly active laccase and efficiently degrade AFB1 in corn by 92.91%, but also improve the nutritional quality of corn. These findings reveal that solid-state fermentation of cereals with edible fungi is an environmentally friendly and efficient approach for degrading AFB1 in cereals and improving the nutritional composition of cereals.