Yeast from fermenting dark tea neutralizes a harmful mold toxin
Sun J, Ruan Y, Liang Y, Gao K, Yang C
Fermentation
If you brew aged or fermented teas like Liupao, the microbes that ripen the leaves can also let mold toxins creep in, and this yeast shows a living tool that could clean them up.
Dark tea is ripened in piles by microbes, and sometimes molds sneak in and leave behind a toxin that can hurt the kidneys and liver. Researchers found a red yeast from the tea itself that eats the toxin completely in two days and turns it into far less harmful compounds. Tests on mouse liver cells confirmed the leftovers were much gentler.
Key Findings
Rhodotorula mucilaginosa LWJJ06 fully degraded 10 to 100 µg/mL of citrinin within 48 h at 28 °C, pH 4.0, and 1 × 10^7 CFU/mL inoculum.
Two degradation products, dihydrocitrinin and dihydrocitrinone, were tentatively identified, and a preliminary degradation pathway was proposed.
Cell counting kit-8 assays showed the breakdown products were significantly less toxic to alpha mouse liver 12 cells than citrinin, with omics data indicating shifts in energy use, oxidative stress responses and membrane lipids.
chevron_right Technical Summary
A red yeast found in fermenting Liupao tea completely broke down a kidney- and liver-damaging mold toxin called citrinin within 48 hours. The breakdown products were much less toxic to mouse liver cells, pointing to a natural way to keep fermented teas safer.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Biodegradation characteristics and mechanism of citrinin by Rhodotorula mucilaginosa LWJJ06 from metabolomic and transcriptomic perspectives.
Liupao tea, a type of dark tea produced through pile fermentation, is susceptible to contamination by mycotoxin citrinin (CIT), posing significant health risks due to its nephrotoxic and hepatotoxi...
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