Dealing with Fungal Overgrowth or Mold? These Probiotics Protect Your Body

Mycotoxins — invisible toxins produced by common molds — quietly contaminate up to 25% of the world’s crops every year. From your morning cereal to livestock feed, these fungal poisons threaten human and animal health, costing billions in lost productivity and discarded food. Yet a promising revolution is underway: biological detoxification. A landmark 2022 review in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences shines a light on how bacteria, yeasts, enzymes, and clever microbial teams are stepping up to neutralize these toxins safely and effectively.

Published by researchers Lu Liu, Mei Xie, and Dong Wei, this comprehensive review summarizes a decade of progress, highlights why biology beats traditional methods, and maps out an exciting future where we could wipe out multiple mycotoxins at once. Let’s break it down in plain language.

The Mycotoxin Menace: Tiny Molecules, Massive Problems

Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites churned out by fungi like Aspergillus, Fusarium, and Penicillium when grains, nuts, fruits, or feed get too warm, damp, or poorly stored. Over 400 have been identified, but six families dominate global concern:

• Aflatoxins (especially AFB1): Produced by Aspergillus in corn, peanuts, and spices. The lactone ring and furan double bond make AFB1 one of the most potent natural carcinogens (Group 1 by IARC). It damages the liver, kidneys, and immune system.
• Trichothecenes (DON, T-2, HT-2): Fusarium’s gift to wheat, barley, and corn. Their 12,13-epoxide ring shuts down protein synthesis, causing vomiting, immune suppression, and feed refusal in animals.
• Ochratoxin A (OTA): From Penicillium and Aspergillus in coffee, wine, and cereals. Its isocoumarin core leads to kidney damage and potential cancer.
• Zearalenone (ZEA): An estrogen-mimicking “myco-estrogen” from Fusarium. The lactone ring lets it bind estrogen receptors, disrupting reproduction.
• Fumonisins (FB1): Fusarium in corn. Structurally similar to sphingolipids, they derail cell signaling and cause serious diseases in horses and pigs.
• Patulin (PAT): In apples and juices from Penicillium. Its reactive rings target thiol enzymes, irritating the gut and more.

These toxins survive cooking, milling, and even some industrial processes. Acute exposure can kill; chronic low-level intake links to cancer, stunted growth in children, and reduced livestock performance. The economic toll? Hundreds of millions of dollars annually in the U.S. alone, and far more globally.

Why Biological Detoxification Wins

Physical methods (heating, irradiation, sorting) and chemical treatments (acids, ozone) work but often destroy nutrients, create new hazards, or cost too much. Biological approaches — using living microbes or their enzymes — operate under gentle conditions (room temperature, neutral pH), preserve food quality, and are highly specific. The review groups them into two main actions:

1. Adsorption (binding): Microbes act like sponges. Probiotic cell walls (peptidoglycan in bacteria, β-glucans in yeasts) trap toxins without destroying them. It’s fast and reversible — great for gut protection.
2. Biodegradation (breaking down): Enzymes cleave key toxic groups, turning poisons into harmless (or far less harmful) molecules. This is permanent and the gold standard.

Probiotics: Your Friendly Neighborhood Detox Squad

Probiotics — the good bacteria and yeasts we already love in yogurt and supplements — are starring players. Strains of Lactobacillus, Bacillus, Pediococcus, and Saccharomyces excel here.

• Bacillus licheniformis CFR1 degraded 94.7% of AFB1 in lab tests.
• Pediococcus pentosaceus slashed T-2 toxin by 78%, HT-2 by 79%, DON by 47%, and ZEA by 38% during wheat malting.
• Brewer’s yeast Saccharomyces pastorianus reduced trichothecenes during beer fermentation.

The beauty? These microbes often double as health boosters — improving gut flora while cleaning toxins.

Microbial Consortia: Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

Single strains struggle with the “cocktail” of multiple mycotoxins common in real-world food. Enter microbial consortia — mixed communities that divide labor.

Examples from the last decade:

• Thermophilic consortium NZDC-6 removed >90% ZEA even at 60°C.
• Soil-derived PGC-3 de-epoxidized trichothecenes.
• Custom mixes degraded AFB1 + ZEA simultaneously and even improved broiler chicken performance by reshaping gut microbiota.

Recombinant Enzymes: Precision Weapons from the Lab

The review highlights a game-changing advance: cloning mycotoxin-degrading genes into safe, high-yield hosts like E. coli or Pichia pastoris.

Standout performers:

• Zearalenone hydrolase (ZHD) expressed in yeast reached 4,976 U/mg activity — lightning-fast lactone cleavage.
• Bifunctional enzyme ZHDCP completely eliminated both ZEA and OTA in minutes.
• Manganese peroxidase (MnP) tackled four mycotoxins at once (AFB1, ZEA, DON, FB1).
• For fumonisins, a two-enzyme combo (carboxylesterase + aminotransferase) works without oxygen — perfect for storage silos.

These engineered enzymes are stable, scalable, and can be added directly to feed or food processing.

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Illustration of how probiotics neutralize mycotoxins while supporting gut health and food safety (credit: Springer Nature concept image).

Challenges We Still Face

The authors are candid: biology isn’t perfect yet.

• Many studies stop at “it disappeared” without proving the breakdown products are truly safe.
• Efficiency drops in real food matrices (pH, temperature, competing compounds).
• Mechanisms and pathways often remain mysterious.
• Scalability and regulatory approval lag behind the science.

The Promising Future: Multifunctional Magic

The review’s vision is thrilling:

• Multifunctional recombinant enzymes that hit several toxins simultaneously.
• Optimized microbial consortia tailored for specific crops or regions.
• Advanced tools (metagenomics, metabolomics, isotopic labeling) to map every degradation step and prove safety using cell lines and zebrafish models.
• Probiotic strains engineered for both detoxification and probiotic benefits in animal feed or even human food.

Imagine feed additives that detoxify while boosting immunity, or fruit-juice enzymes that zap patulin on the production line. The authors predict commercial-scale solutions within years if we invest in thorough toxicology and field trials.

Final Takeaway: Biology Is Ready — Are We?

The 2022 review by Liu, Xie, and Wei isn’t just a summary of what’s been done — it’s a roadmap for what must be done. Biological detoxification offers specificity, safety, and sustainability that no other method matches. As climate change expands fungal habitats and global trade spreads contamination, these green technologies may become essential for food security.

If you’re a farmer, food manufacturer, researcher, or just someone who cares about what ends up on your plate, this field deserves your attention. The fungi have had their run. Now it’s time for biology to fight back — smarter, cleaner, and more powerful than ever.

Read the full open-access review here: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/23/3/1064

What do you think — should we start adding probiotic detox strains to everyday foods? Drop your thoughts in the comments, and share this if you care about safer food for all!