Simultaneous allergen inactivation and detoxification of castor bean cake by treatment with calcium compounds

Ricinus communis L. is of great economic importance due to the oil extracted from its seeds. Castor oil has been used for pharmaceutical and industrial applications, as a lubricant or coating agent, as a component of plastic products, as a fungicide or in the synthesis of biodiesel fuels. After oil extraction, a castor cake with a large amount of protein is obtained. However, this by-product cannot be used as animal feed due to the presence of toxic (ricin) and allergenic (2S albumin) proteins. Here, we propose two processes for detoxification and allergen inactivation of the castor cake. In addition, we establish a biological test to detect ricin and validate these detoxification processes. In this test, Vero cells were treated with ricin, and cell death was assessed by cell counting and measurement of lactate dehydrogenase activity. The limit of detection of the Vero cell assay was 10 ng/mL using a concentration of 1.6 x 10(5) cells/well. Solid-state fermentation (SSF) and treatment with calcium compounds were used as cake detoxification processes. For SSF, Aspergillus niger was grown using a castor cake as a substrate, and this cake was analyzed after 24, 48, 72, and 96 h of SSF. Ricin was eliminated after 24 h of SSF treatment. The cake was treated with 4 or 8% Ca(OH)2 or CaO, and both the toxicity and the allergenic properties were entirely abolished. A by-product free of toxicity and allergens was obtained.

Phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity in fermented rice (Oryza sativa) bran

This study investigated the content of total phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity in fermented rice bran in order to evaluate the effect of solid state fermentation on these properties. The process was performed with the fungus Rhizopus oryzae CTT 1217 in tray reactors at 30 °C for 120 hours. Samples of fermented rice bran were collected every 24 hours. Antioxidant property was evaluated by the diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging method and through the inhibition of enzymatic oxidation and lipid peroxidation of olive oil. The methanol extract of the biomass obtained at 96 hours of fermentation inactivated 50% of free radical in 15 minutes. The same extract reduced the peroxide value in the olive oil by 57% after 30 days of storage. The aqueous extract of the biomass obtained at 120 hours was the most efficient inhibitor of the darkening reaction catalyzed by peroxidase.