Nixtamalization of Maize to Reduce Mycotoxin Exposure: A Human Biomonitoring Intervention Study in Soweto, South Africa.

ABSTRACT: Mycotoxin contamination is a global threat to food safety and human health, especially in regions facing food insecurity, such as Sub-Saharan Africa. This intervention study evaluates the effectiveness of nixtamalization, a traditional alkaline cooking method, in reducing mycotoxin levels in maize and corresponding urinary biomarkers of exposure. Forty adult healthy volunteers from an informal settlement in Kliptown, Soweto (South Africa), were randomly assigned to consume control maize or visibly moldy maize subjected to nixtamalization. Nixtamalization achieved a reduction in fumonisin B3 and deoxynivalenol (DON) to unquantifiable or undetectable levels in maize, while reducing fumonisin B1 (FB1), fumonisin B2, and zearalenone (ZEN) by 95%, 95%, and 89%, respectively. Aflatoxin B1 was un

SUBMITTER: Maris E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12656582 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature