A holistic study to evaluate the degradation of zearalenone in corn and its impact on quality using dielectric barrier discharge cold plasma

Zearalenone (ZEN), an extensively prevalent mycotoxin, severely endangers human health and causes economic losses. In this study, we introduced a novel method employing dielectric barrier discharge cold plasma (DBD-CP) to efficiently reduce ZEN levels in corn. We not only investigated the influence of plasma parameters and sample properties on degradation rates but also comprehensively evaluated the quality of treated corn and explored the degradation mechanism through product identification. The results demonstrate an impressive 63.71% reduction in ZEN levels in corn. Notably, structural analysis indicated that the oxy-lactone ring of degradation products found in this study, namely the estrogenic toxicity site of ZEN, had been destroyed. Furthermore, the sensory properties and nutritional value of corn were minimally affected by this technique except for a slight promotion of lipid oxidation. Overall, this work verified that DBD-CP holds great promise for application in product detoxification in the future agricultural and food industries.