Impact of chlorine dioxide on zearalenone degradation in corn germ and corn oil quality.

The corn oil industry suffers significant economic losses from zearalenone (ZEN) contamination. This study explored the application of chlorine dioxide (ClO2), a potent oxidizing agent, to degrade ZEN in the contaminated corn germ, which is the primary raw material for corn oil production. Under optimized processing conditions, ClO2 achieved a significant degradation rate of 65.48% for ZEN. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis identified four major degradation products, characterized by molecular formulas C14H16O6, C17H22O7, C17H20O6, and C13H16O3, suggesting structural alterations in ZEN. Furthermore, the impact of ClO2 treatment at varying concentrations on the quality of corn germ oil was evaluated. The results indicated that treatment with ClO2 at concentrations below 500 mg/kg had no significant effect on the quality of the oil. On the contrary, treatment concentrations higher than 1000 mg/kg can lead to significant changes in key parameters, such as antioxidant activity and corn oil stability. Therefore, optimizing the concentration of ClO2 is essential to effectively balance ZEN degradation with the preservation of corn germ oil quality.