Studies aimed at inactivating the mycotoxins tryptoquialanines A and B produced by the fungus Penicillium digitatum in orange juice

• Grant number: 24/05137-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: July 01, 2024
• End date: June 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Organic Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Taicia Pacheco Fill
• Grantee: Maria Gabriela Gonçalves Tonhosolo
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Citrus farming is an activity of great global and national importance, being oranges the major citrus fruit commercialized worldwide. In this context, Brazil stands out for beingthe largest producer and exporter of oranges and concentrated orange juice in the world.However, this crop is affected by fungal infections that cause great losses, in addition tocompromising quality and safety of fruits consumption. The fungus Penicilliumdigitatum, which causes green mold disease, is the main post-harvest phytopathogen, andduring infection in citrus hosts, induces the production of mycotoxins, such astriptoquialanines, which are tremorgenic secondary metabolites. An alarming fact is thattryptoquialanine mycotoxins A and B were found in fresh orange juices (fresh juices soldin markets) and 100% full industrial juices. The ingestion of these mycotoxins throughcitrus fruits or their derivatives, may pose a risk to human health. Therefore, it isextremely important to study and develop methods that can inactivate and reduce theconcentration of these mycotoxins in juices. Preliminary studies with processing testsusing pasteurization and HPP (processing in high pressure) indicated a 17 to 32%reduction in the content of these mycotoxins, and may represent promising techniques fororange juice processing. Therefore, our aim here is to isolate and characterizetriptoquialanine alkaloids produced by Penicillium digitatum, as well as investigating theimpact of the high pressure processing (HPP) combined with the application of heat toorange juice samples. Our main goal is evaluating how different parameters such aspressure, temperature and exposure time influence the reduction of content of the targetmycotoxins. The studies will be performed through chromatographic techniques, massspectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance.