The elimination of ochratoxin A by lactic acid bacteria strains

The aim of this study was to examine 29 strains of lactic acid bacteria of the Lactobacillus and Lactococcus genera, assessing their sensitivity to ochratoxin A and their ability to remove it from a liquid medium. It was demonstrated that most strains are insensitive to the presence of OTA at the quantity of 5 μg/disc. It was demonstrated that all strains caused a reduction of the toxin amount in the liquid medium. The highest decrease, exceeding 50% of the initial OTA content, was caused by the strains Lactobacillus acidophilus CH-5, L. rhamnosus GG, L. plantarum BS, L. brevis and L. sanfranciscensis. The example of three selected strains confirmed the negative effect of the toxin on the dynamics of bacterial growth. A sharp decrease of ochratoxin A was observed during the first 15 hours of culture growth. In the course of cultivation the amount of the toxin in the medium increased, indicating that the toxin elimination is partially reversible. A small quantity of ochratoxin A became bound to the bacterial biomass.