Ochratoxin A Removal by Yeasts after Exposure to Simulated Human Gastrointestinal Conditions

Yeasts can remove ochratoxin A (OTA) in foods; however, we do not know if they can experience this ability in the gut. Thus, the aim of this paper was to study OTA binding by 3 wine strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (W13, W28, and the commercial isolate BM45) and S. cerevisiae var. boulardii ATCC MYA‐796 (a probiotic yeast) after exposure to conditions simulating the passage through human gastrointestinal tract. Yeasts removed OTA by up to 44%, with a better ability found after gastrointestinal and sequential assays. However, the phenomenon was reversible, because ca. 18% to 28% of toxin was not stably bound. After the evaluation of the net amount of OTA bound by yeasts (that is, after toxin release), S. cerevisiae W13 and S. cerevisiae var. boulardii ATCC MYA‐796 were selected as the most promising strains for further studies (for example, clinical trials) due to their ability to remove 21% of OTA.