From wheat to sourdough bread: a laboratory scale study on the fate of deoxynivalenol content

The effect of wheat processing by scouring, milling and sourdough bread making on the fate of deoxynivalenol was studied using wheat samples artificially contaminated with Fusarium graminearum. The scourer assures an intensive treatment of grain surface, allowing the reduction of deoxynivalenol content by 34.6-46.2%. After milling, the deoxynivalenol was found in all wheat mill fractions. The highest deoxynivalenol contents were found in bran fractions (bran and shorts). Concerning the flour fractions, those with low ash content, resulting from the first break and first reduction flours, were found to have higher deoxynivalenol concentrations than other flour fractions. The sourdough fermentation with selected lactic acid bacteria allowed the significant decrease (58.6-66.5%) of deoxynivalenol content of flour, while the spontaneous fermentation induced a much lower decrease (26.2-29.1%). The baking process caused the reduction of deoxynivalenol content by 11.4-15.5% compared to fermented dough.