4.4.1. Study of the Effect of Bacterial Count on Mycotoxin Binding of LAB Strains

Three strains (TV3, MA2, TS23) with good mycotoxin binding capacities, selected by the results obtained in preliminary experiments (results not shown), were used for the study. The strains were grown in 9 mL of MRS broth (de Man Rogosa and Sharpe Broth, VWR) for 48 h at 37 ◦C. From these cultures of 10<sup>8</sup> cfu/mL, ten-fold dilutions were performed in MRS broth until the concentration of 10<sup>3</sup> cfu/mL. From the five dilutions, 15–15 mL was transferred to 15 mL plastic Falcon tubes. Bacterial concentrations were checked by plating on MRS agar. To each sample a uniform amount of mycotoxin equal to 0.2 µg/mL was added, the samples were mixed and incubated for 10 min at room temperature. The tubes were then centrifuged at 4000 rpm for 40 min (Centrifuge 5810 R, Eppendorf, Wien, Austria). The supernatant was decanted and the mycotoxin was extracted from the biomass (see Section 4.3).
