Aflatoxins occur naturally in many agricultural crops causing health hazards and economic losses. Despite improved handling, processing and storage, they remain a problem in the peanut industry. Therefore, new ways to detoxify contaminated products are needed to limit economic/health impacts and add value to the peanut industry. The study was conducted (1) to evaluate the effectiveness of ozonation and mild heat in breaking down aflatoxins in peanut kernels and flour, and (2) to quantify aflatoxin destruction compared with untreated samples. Peanut samples were inoculated with known concentrations of aflatoxins B1, B2, G1 and G2. Samples were subjected to gaseous ozonation and under various temperatures (25, 50, 75 degrees C) and exposure times (5, 10, 15 min). Ozonated and non-ozonated samples were extracted in acetonitrile/water, derivatized in a Kobra cell and quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography. Ozonation efficiency increased with higher temperatures and longer treatment times. Regardless of treatment combinations, aflatoxins B1 and G1 exhibited the highest degradation levels. Higher levels of toxin degradation were achieved in peanut kernels than in flour. The temperature effect lessened as the exposure time increased, suggesting that ozonation at room temperature for 10-15 min could yield degradation levels similar to those achieved at higher temperatures while being more economical.

The increase in demand for agricultural products due to the growing population led to excessive inputs of pesticides in the agriculture field which resulted in contamination of the environmental segments of life i.e. air, water, and soil. Chlorpyrifos is one of the most extensively used broad-spectrum organophosphate insecticides. The usage and broad-spectrum applicability of chlorpyrifos lead to widespread contamination in the environment and serious damage to non-target organisms. Moreover, metabolites of chlorpyrifos i.e. chlorpyrifos-oxon and 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol are found to be more toxic than its parent compound. This review emphasizes on various toxic effects of chlorpyrifos and its metabolites on living organisms. The efforts put to develop the efficient methods for the degradation of the insecticide in soil and water i.e. photocatalytic, biodegradation, electrochemical and others have been discussed. Analytical techniques used for the study of degraded products and various intermediates formed during degradation under different conditions are summarized. It also includes the general pathway for the degradation of chlorpyrifos. The review will help in the development of tools for degradation and mineralization of organophosphate pesticides by knowing the mechanism of degradation and applicability of the developed process at a large scale.

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