Large Scale Experiments on the Investigation of the Effect of High Concentrations of Aflatoxin B1 on the Fermentation of Different Wines

Abstract

The change of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) content during must fermentation processes in different white, rosé and red musts was investigated, using selected yeast strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae as starter cultures. Levels of AFB1 in must and lees were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) combined with diode array detection (DAD). Reductions of the AFB1 content between 77%-97% were recorded after 90 days must fermentations in the model systems, while the relative adsorption level of AFB1 in lees was around ~0.63 in case of white wines, ~0.41 in case of rosé wines and ~0.23 in case of red wines. The results show that even extremely high AFB1 levels do not affect the fermentation process and the life-circle of yeast strains. The concentration of AFB1 in wine can be controlled by using appropriate yeast strains during the alcoholic fermentation.