Advances in deoxynivalenol toxicity and detoxification: Mechanisms, challenges, and future perspectives

Deoxynivalenol (DON), a highly prevalent trichothecene mycotoxin produced by Fusarium species in crops, poses a global threat to food safety. High stability of the mycotoxin during food processing renders it a persistent hazard throughout the food chain. Conventional physical and chemical detoxification strategies face limitations such as incomplete toxin removal, nutrient loss, toxic byproduct generation, and regulatory constraints. Microbial and enzymatic degradation exhibit high substrate specificity, mild operational conditions, and environmental compatibility, yet their large-scale application is constrained by uncertainty about the safety of degradation products and process scalability. This review outlines the toxicological profile of DON and its modified forms. The well-validated toxicity mechanisms of DON, including cellular ribotoxic stress, endoplasmic reticulum stress, oxidative damage, mitochondrial dysfunction, epigenotoxicity, immunomodulation, and apoptosis, are summarized. Existing detoxification strategies are systematically documented, with special emphasis on microbial and enzymatic degradation methods and products. Furthermore, the efficacy and advantages of microbial strains and enzymes in achieving high-efficiency DON detoxification under optimized laboratory conditions (often exhibiting degradation rates >95%) are critically discussed. By bridging the gap between DON toxicity mechanisms and current detoxification strategies, this review provides comprehensive clues for mitigating risks of DON contamination.