Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Department of Phytochemistry, Medicinal Plants and Drugs Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
2
Department of Agriculture, Medicinal Plants and Drugs Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
3
Foudeh Novel Biotechnology Research Center, Isfahan, Iran
Abstract
Deoxynivalenol (DON) is a prevalent mycotoxin mainly produced by Fusarium graminearum, which frequently contaminates cereals like maize, wheat, and barley both in the field and during storage. Human exposure to this toxin occurs directly through plant-based foods (such as grains) or indirectly through ani-mal-derived products (including kidney, liver, milk, and eggs). Clinically, DON induces a range of adverse effects in animals, such as gastrointestinal distress, vomiting, anorexia, bloody diarrhea, reproductive issues, abortion, and even death. Consequently,its presence in animal feed poses a serious threat to live-stock health and industry. Using mycotoxin-binding agents is a key approach to mitigate this risk by adsorbing mycotoxins in the aqueous environment, pre-venting their absorption, and facilitating the excretion of the toxin-adsorbent complex via feces. In this study, two organic adsorbents (activated carbon with different mesh sizes and leonardite) and seven mineral adsorbents (bentonite, two dolomite types, diatomite, perlite, vermiculite, and zeolite) were screened for DON reduction potential. Organic adsorbents, achieving 80-100% DON removal. However, they were excluded due to their non-selective adsorption and nutrient depletion. Among the mineral adsorbents, bentonite showed the highest DON adsorption (52%). Acid modification of bentonite further improved its perfor-mance to 60%, an enhancement confirmed by BET and FTIR analyses. Adsorp-tion isotherm studies revealed that the process was best described by the Redlich–Peterson model (R² = 0.92), indicating incorporating both Langmuir and Freun-dlich behaviors. The Freundlich isotherm suggested favorable adsorption (1/n < 1).
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