Evaluation of cold plasma for decontamination of molds and mycotoxins in rice grain.

• The viabilities of grain molds are notably inhibited by cold plasma. • DON and OTA toxins are significantly reduced by cold plasma treatment in rice grain. • Cold plasma has minimal effects on major nutrition and seed viability. • The types of FFAs increase over cold plasma treatment time. Few reports are on the application of cold plasma (CP) for mold and mycotoxin control in grain. The aim of this study was to evaluate the viability of CP for mycotoxin and mold control in rice grain. Rice grains artificially contaminated with molds or mycotoxins were subjected to CP treatment. The microbial activities of Aspergillus niger , Rhizopus oryzae , Penicillium verrucosum and Fusarium graminearum were significantly inhibited by CP treatment. The maximal reduction of DON and OTA were 61.25 % and 55.64 %, respectively. The electrical conductivity and malondialdehyde content in rice grain increased at most by 30.14 % and 103.27 %, respectively. The seed germination reduced significantly when treatment time reached 8 min. The major nutrients of rice grain were not affected except for prolamine, which was generally consistent with the results of electron microscopy and Fourier-transform infrared analysis. Cold plasma is a promising method for mold and mycotoxin control in rice grain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]