2.2.2. Aflatoxin B1 Binding Capacities of *Pediococcus* Strains

From the genus *Pediococcus*, the AFB1 binding capacities of 24 strains were studied. The strains belonged to species *P. acidilactici* (8 strains), *P. lolii* (3 strains), *P. pentosaceus* (12 strains), and *P. stilesii* (1 strain). According to the results shown in Figure 4, the best AFB1 binding ability was found for strain *P. acidilactici* OR83. For the other strains, the AFB1 binding percentages were around or below 4% (Table 2). The average binding capacities of the species were around 3% with the exception of *P. pentosaceus* at 2%. The highest standard deviation of the AFB1 binding abilities of the strains belonging to one species was obtained for *P. acidilactici*. These results are in agreement with data presented in the literature, where Zinedine et al. [37] found that *Pediococcus acidilactici* strain P55 removed 1.80% AFB1.

**Figure 4.** *Pediococcus* strains with percentage AFB1 binding capacities at 0.2 µg/mL mycotoxin concentration in MRS broth.

**Table 2.** Percentage AFB1 binding capacities of *Pediococcus* species at 0.2 µg/mL mycotoxin concentration in MRS broth.


2.2.3. Aflatoxin B1 Binding Capacities of *Lactococcus* and *Weissella* Strains

For the study of AFB1 binding capacities of the genera *Lactococcus* and *Weissella*, only a limited number of strains has been used, one strain of *Lactococcus formosensis*, 1 strain of *L. garviae*, and 3 strains of *Weissella soli*. All studied strains have low mycotoxin binding capacities at the parameter setup of the experiment (Figure 5). Peltonen et al. [29] found that the three *Lactococcus lactis* strains studied bound 5.6 to 41.1% AFB1, which shows the wide range of binding capacities depending on the strains of a species. For aflatoxin binding of *Weissella* spp., only a few papers can be found in the literature. Binding with AFB1 was found to be 43.7% for *Weissella cibaria* NN20 by Nduti et al. [38] in skim milk at 10 ng/mL AFB1 concentration, also the EPS produced by *Weissella confusa* was proved to have aflatoxin binding capacity up to 34.79% at 100 mg/mL concentration of EPS, though no binding could be observed under 20 mg/mL EPS concentration [39]. Differences between our findings and the results might be explained by the different strains or methods used in the studies.

**Figure 5.** *Lactococcus* and *Weissella* strains with percentage AFB1 binding capacities at 0.2 µg/mL mycotoxin concentration in MRS broth.
