**4. Conclusions**

Ozone and EBI were proven to be a safe, efficient, and environmentally friendly processing method in degrading ZEN and OTA. In this study, the degradation rate of the ZEN and OTA standard working solutions increased with the extension of ozone treatment time. ZEN was completely degraded within 10 s at 2 mg/<sup>L</sup> of ozone concentration, and the degradation rate of OTA was 34% at 180 s by ozone treatment, suggesting that ZEN was more sensitive to ozone. The degradation rate of ZEN and OTA solutions by EBI increased with the irradiation dose. At high radiation dose, methanol was beneficial to the degradation of ZEN by EBI and acetonitrile was more beneficial to the degradation of OTA by EBI. EBI can induce the reaction among acetonitrile molecules and between acetonitrile and toxin molecules by comparing the degradation rates of ZEN and OTA in different solutions using HPLC chromatograms. However, the high cost of equipment limits the wide application of ozone treatment and EBI. In addition, a high EBI dose on grain will affect the color of the product, which is not conducive to the subsequent processing and utilization. Further research needs to be done to investigate the mechanism of degradation of mycotoxin by ozone and EBI and discuss the different process conditions and instrument parameters in degrading mycotoxins in cereals and cereal-derived food products.

#### **5. Materials and Methods**

#### *5.1. Materials and Instruments*

#### 5.1.1. Materials and Reagent

Standard ZEN and OTA products (purity ≥ 99.8%) and acetic acid (HPLC grade) were obtained from J&K Scientific Ltd. (Shanghai, China). HPLC-grade methanol (Met) and acetonitrile (Ace) were purchased from Fisher Scientific Company (Waltham, MA, USA). Milli-Q quality water (resistance ≥ 18.2 MΩ/cm) was prepared by a Millipore-QSP ultrapure water instrument (Millipore, Bedford, MA, USA). Nitrogen (purity ≥ 99.8%) and oxygen (purity ≥ 99.8%) were obtained from Wuxi Xinnan Chemical Gas Co., Ltd., Wuxi, China. The other analytical pure reagents were purchased from China Pharmaceutical Chemical Reagent Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China.

### 5.1.2. Major Apparatus

HPLC (HPLC 1260) with a fluorescence detector and ZORBAX SB-C18 column was purchased from Agilent Technologies (Palo Alto, CA, USA). The AB5.0 electron beam accelerator was obtained from Wuxi EL PONT Radiation Technology Co., Ltd. (Wuxi, China) and the CFG-3-20 g-type ozone generator was purchased from Qingdao Guolin Industrial Co., Ltd. (Qingdao, China). An Ideal 2000 Ozone concentration analysis recorder was obtained from Zibo ADEL Measurement Control Co., Ltd. (Zibo, China) and the MD200-1 pressure-blowing instrument was purchased from Hangzhou Allsheng Instrument Co., Ltd. (Hangzhou, China).
