*4.5. Screening LAB Strains for Mycotoxin Binding Capacities*

*Lactobacillus* strains were taken from −20 ◦C storage, thawed on ice, and 20 µl of the suspension was transferred to 9 mL MRA broth. The tubes were incubated at 37 ◦C for 24 h. Falcon tubes containing 15 mL of MRS broth were inoculated with 50 µl of the cultures. The tubes were incubated at 37 ◦C for two days. Three replicates were prepared with each strain.

After the incubation, 0.2 µg/mL of AFB1 or ST were added to the tubes. Pure MRS broth was used as a negative control, and mycotoxin-only MRS broth without bacteria was used as a positive control. The tubes were mixed by shaking and the tubes were incubated with the mycotoxin for 10 min at room temperature. The tubes were centrifuged at 4000 rpm for 40 min to separate the biomass from the supernatant. The supernatant was transferred to an empty sterile Falcon tube and stored at −80 ◦C until further analysis. The AFB1 and ST contents of the biomasses were determined by the HPLC method described in Section 4.3.
