Degradation efficiency and products of deoxynivalenol treated by cold plasma and its application in wheat

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is one of the mycotoxins that occur frequently in wheat and considered a serious threaten to health. Cold plasma was used as an efficient approach for DON degradation in this study. The influences of working gas type, voltage and processing time of cold plasma system on DON degradation were investigated. It was found that 83.99% of DON solid standard could be degraded after 8 min treatment at 50 kV in air atmosphere. LC/TOF-MS was used to analyze the degradation products of DON after cold plasma treatment. It showed that the epoxy group, double bond and hydroxyl groups which responsible for the toxicity of DON might be destroyed by plasma, and total 4 molecular formulas and 7 possible degradation products were deduced. The cold plasma system was further applicated in the degradation of DON in wheat samples. Negligible effects on wheat quality were observed after degradation except for a slight decrease in whiteness of wheat powder. Therefore, cold plasma may be a promising strategy for DON contaminant in wheat.