In this study, the biodegradation of zearalenone (ZEN) by cell suspensions of various Lactobacillus species (Lb. fermentum 2I3 (L1), Lb. reuteri L26 (L3), Lb. plantarum L81 (L4), Lb. reuteri 2/6 (L5), Lb. plantarum CCM 1904 (L6)), Bacillus subtilis CCM 2794 (Bs), and Bacillus licheniformis CCM 2206 (Bl); was investigated in vitro. All lactobacilli cell suspensions showed very good degradation efficiency (57.9—100 %) for zearalenone at the concentration 0.01 ppm. At higher concentrations of zearalenone, their biodegradation activity decreased significantly (0—13.9 %). Bacillus subtilis CCM 2794 was able to degrade zearalenone at concentrations of: 0.01 ppm (100 %), 0.1 ppm (74.5 %), and at higher concentrations of ZEN (1 ppm; 10 ppm), the degradation was 11.7 % and 0 %, respectively. For Bacillus licheniformis CCM 2206, no biodegradation of zearalenone was observed at the concentration of 10 ppm, but slight degradation (4.5—8.8 %) was found at lower zearalenone concentrations.
