Previous studies have demonstrated that a novel source of ozone gas (O3) maybe used to chemically degrade numerous mycotoxins, including aflatoxin (AF) B1. Subsequent in vitro analyses demonstrated detoxification of AFB1, suggesting a potential method of remediate AF-contaminated grain. The objective of this study was to evaluate the capability of electrochemically produced ozone to degrade AFB1 in naturally contaminated whole kernel corn and confirm detoxification in turkey poults. Corn was procured from the southern coastal areas of Texas and HPLC revealed 1,220 +/- 73.3 ppb AFB1. Control and contaminated corn were treated for 92 h with O3 at 200 mg/min in 30 kg batches; greater than 95% reduction of AFB1 in contaminated corn was achieved. One-day-old female turkey poults were fed 1) control corn, 2) control corn + O3, 3) AFB1 corn, or 4) AFB1 corn + O3 mixed in rations (46% by wt.) and consumed ad libitum for 3 wk. When compared with controls, turkeys fed AFB1 corn had reduced body weight gain and relative liver weight, whereas turkeys fed control corn + O3 or AFB1 corn + O3 did not differ from controls. Furthermore, alterations in the majority of relative organ weight, liver discoloration, serum enzyme activity, hematological parameters, and blood chemistry caused by AFB1 were eliminated (no difference from controls) by treatment with O3. These data demonstrate that treatment of contaminated corn with electrochemically produced O3 provided protection against AFB1 in young turkey poults. It is important to note that treatment of control corn with O3 did not alter the performance of the turkey poults.

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The onset of infection can lead rapidly to sepsis, septic shock, and eventually death. Considering the high costs of hospitalization and the added trauma and discomfort to the patient, improved methods for infection control are needed. Ozone offers a specific solution to the problem of effective management of microbial wound contamination. Despite the advantages, several technical barriers have prevented ozone‐based disinfection treatments from becoming more widely investigated. Negative press from years of unsubstantiated medical successes has made the medical community wary of even legitimate ozone technologies. Because there has been no research into using ozone in infection prevention, much of the hardware has not been developed to the stage where the technology can be used in clinical trials. Lynntech Inc., over the past 5 years, has been working to develop a pre‐clinical ozone‐based wound management system. This new hardware uses an electrochemical ozone generator that can deliver a predetermined quantity of ozone gas to a specific wound site. Electrochemically generated ozone has been shown to be effective against a range of gram negative and gram positive bacteria and our studies with various mimetic wound systems have shown that with controlled delivery, ozone can be utilized as either a disinfectant or as a biostat. The device is well suited for hospital use as it operates of low voltage power supplies and unlike other ozone generation technologies will not interfere with other electronic equipment while it is in operation. This paper outlines both the advantages and limitations of using an ozone based system as a wound management tool and looks to the future research that needs to be performed to substantiated the initial research findings.

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