This technology involves the Rhodotorula taiwanensis P1 yeast strain, isolated and identified from pears, and a composition for removing alternariol containing this strain or its culture broth. It is used by fermenting the strain or applying the composition to contaminated food, agricultural products, or feed to reduce the fungal toxin alternariol.
Alternariol is a toxin produced by Alternaria fungi in grains and fruits like tomatoes and apples. It is cytotoxic, genotoxic, and carcinogenic, and because it is heat-stable, it often persists even after cooking or processing. Physical and chemical removal methods, such as adsorption or ozone degradation, have limitations in that they can damage food quality and nutritional content, and no biological methods have previously been reported to remove alternariol to a satisfactory level.
This technology establishes conditions for maintaining high alternariol removal efficiency by culturing the P1 strain, which has the ITS sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, in a live state at 25–30°C for at least 48 hours. The composition can also be used as a food or feed additive. It can be applied to toxin reduction processes for processed tomato products, detoxification of grain and meal feed ingredients, and management of mycotoxins in stored fruits, providing a biological way to remove heat-resistant alternariol without compromising food components.
This invention was developed with support from the Rural Development Administration's project for the development of technology for automatic collection and utilization of hazard and safety data at each stage of post-harvest management of agricultural products.
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