ZEN is one of the primary animal feed contaminants causing reproductive disorders in livestock. Another survey from 2004 to 2011 on the occurrence of ZEN in feed and feed raw materials showed that ZEN was detected at an average level of 101 ppb, with a 36% contamination rate in 13,578 corn, soybean, soybean meal, wheat, barley, dried distillers grains with solubles, silage, and finished feed samples from all over the world. A survey from 2009 to 2011 on the occurrence of ZEN in feedstuffs and feed showed that ZEN was detected at an average level of 104 ppb, with a 45% contamination rate in 5,402 corn, soybean, soybean meal, wheat, dried distillers grains with solubles, and finished feed samples from Americas, Europe and Asia. Zearalenone (ZEN) is a mycotoxin produced by various species of Fusarium, and frequently occurs in maize, barley, oats, wheat, and sorghum. Therefore, CK1 has a great potential for the development of feed additive to remove ZEN. These findings demonstrated that CK1 displayed probiotic characteristics and removed ZEN effectively. In the adsorption stability analysis, the amounts of ZEN removed by CK1 was over 30% even after five consecutive rounds of washing procedures.

At temperatures between 4 and 42☌, CK1 removed more than 75% of ZEN. In the pH range of 2.5–8.0, CK1 removed up to 65% of ZEN. At 37☌ in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS, pH 7.0) containing 5 μg mL -1 of ZEN, the ZEN removal percentage of CK1 was 73.0%, which was significantly higher than that of HSCAS and LGG (45.9% and 48.4%, respectively). The ZEN removal ability of CK1 was compared with a mineral mycotoxin-adsorbing agent, hydrated sodium calcium aluminosilicate (HSCAS), and a well-characterized biological mycotoxin-adsorbing agent, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG). CK1 survived after incubation at pH 2.0 or 3.0 for 3 h, grew well in LB broth containing 0.3% oxgall, possessed adherence capability to Caco-2 cells, and inhibited the growth of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Listeria monocytogenes.

The probiotic properties, including acidic tolerance, bile salt tolerance, adherence capability, and anti-pathogenic activities of CK1 were evaluated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the probiotic characteristics and ZEN removal ability of a Bacillus licheniformis strain CK1. Zearalenone (ZEN) is a mycotoxin produced by Fusarium species, which is one of the main animal feed contaminants causing reproductive disorders in livestock.

Zen bound 2 levels list