CORN GRAIN BRUSHING FOR DEOXYNIVALENOL REDUCTION

For the purpose of deoxynivalenol (DON) reduction in corn samples, a laboratory brusher was developed. The brusher had two main parts, motionless screen and fast rotating brush. Corn kernels were placed on the motionless screen of the brusher, and fast rotating round shaped polypropylene bristle brush was put into the motionless screen in order to clean the surface of the kernels. The experiment consisted of 27 brushing trials with variations in process parameters (DON concentration, brushing time, and speed of rotating brush). Brushing of corn that is DON infected resulted in the reduction of DON concentration in all samples. The maximal limit of DON reduction at optimal conditions was 83.6%. Thus, the presented process can be considered as highly efficient. The proposed technology did not cause any changes in the physical appearance of kernel, nor were damages observed on kernel surface during the brushing process. Also, there were no whole grain losses detected in any of the process parameter combination.