**Aflatoxin B1 and Sterigmatocystin Binding Potential of Non-***Lactobacillus* **LAB Strains**

### **Ildikó Bata-Vidács 1,\*, Judit Kosztik <sup>1</sup> , Mária Mörtl <sup>2</sup> , András Székács <sup>2</sup> and József Kukolya <sup>1</sup>**


Received: 17 November 2020; Accepted: 11 December 2020; Published: 14 December 2020

**Abstract:** Research on the ability of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) to bind aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) has mostly been focusing on lactobacilli and bifidobacteria. In this study, the AFB1 binding capacities of 20 *Enterococcus* strains belonging to *E. casseliflavus*, *E. faecalis*, *E. faecium*, *E. hirae*, *E. lactis*, and *E. mundtii*, 24 *Pediococcus* strains belonging to species *P. acidilactici*, *P. lolii*, *P. pentosaceus*, and *P. stilesii*, one strain of *Lactococcus formosensis* and *L. garviae*, and 3 strains of *Weissella soli* were investigated in MRS broth at 37 ◦C at 0.2 µg/mL mycotoxin concentration. According to our results, among non-lactobacilli LAB, the genera with the best AFB1 binding abilities were genus *Pediococcus*, with a maximum binding percentage of 7.6% by *P. acidilactici* OR83, followed by genus *Lactococcus*. For AFB1 bio-detoxification purposes, beside lactobacilli, pediococci can also be chosen, but it is important to select a strain with better binding properties than the average value of its genus. Five *Pediococcus* strains have been selected to compare their sterigmatocystin (ST) binding abilities to AFB1 binding, and a 2–3-fold difference was obtained similar to previous findings for lactobacilli. The best strain was *P. acidilactici* OR83 with 18% ST binding capacity. This is the first report on ST binding capabilities of non-*Lactobacillus* LAB strains.

**Keywords:** aflatoxin B1; sterigmatocystin; lactic acid bacteria; mycotoxin binding; detoxification

**Key Contribution:** Forty-eight strains belonging to the genera *Enterococcus*, *Pediococcus*, *Weissella*, and *Lactococcus* were screened for aflatoxin B1 binding abilities, and also 5 *Pediococcus* strains have been tested for sterigmatocystin binding potential. It is the first time in the literature that sterigmatocystin binding of pediococci is presented. AFB1 and ST binding abilities of strains belonging to the same species vary highly.
