Aflatoxin is water-soluble. After rinsing and boiling, the aflatoxin contaminating peanuts is mostly dissolved into the water, making cooked peanuts safer to eat and easier to digest and absorb.
Peanuts are nutritious and an inexpensive, readily available health food. According to research by Mexican scientists, peanuts contain large amounts of plant sterols, which are very beneficial to human health. In particular, β-sitosterol has the effect of preventing colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer, and cardiovascular diseases. Further research by American scientists has found that peanuts also contain "resveratrol". This substance has strong biological activity, not only can it resist cancer, but it can also inhibit platelet aggregation, preventing myocardial infarction and cerebral infarction. Every 100 grams of peanuts also contains 8.48 milligrams of zinc, which can enhance immune function and delay aging. Therefore, peanuts are praised by people as the "longevity fruit".
However, peanuts are the crop most susceptible to aflatoxin infection. According to research by Professor Li Peiwu, a doctoral supervisor at the Oil Crops Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, peanuts can be infected by aflatoxin throughout their entire growth period, including while growing in the field. After harvesting, affected by temperature, humidity, and storage conditions, peanuts are even more susceptible to aflatoxin infection. In the process of reproduction and metabolism, aflatoxin produces a large amount of toxins (mainly aflatoxin B1), contaminating peanuts and their products. It has now been confirmed that this toxin can be found in improperly stored peanuts, peanut oil, peanut beverages, and peanut butter.
Scientists worldwide recognize that aflatoxin is the strongest carcinogen discovered to date, especially aflatoxin B1, whose toxicity is 10 times that of potassium cyanide and 68 times that of arsenic. Its physicochemical properties are quite stable, it cannot be degraded in the human body, and can only be deposited in liver cells. When the amount of aflatoxin deposited exceeds the body's tolerance, it causes liver damage, inflammation, and even induces liver cancer.
How can peanuts be eaten safely and beneficially? First, peanuts that appear yellowish-green should be discarded. Then, soak and rinse them with running water, and then cook them in clean water, discarding the water before eating. Aflatoxin is water-soluble. After rinsing and boiling, the aflatoxin contaminating the peanuts is mostly dissolved into the water, making cooked peanuts safer to eat and easier to digest and absorb. Some people say that boiled peanuts are not fragrant or crispy, so can they be deep-fried? Experiments have shown that aflatoxin cannot be destroyed even when heated to 200°C. Moreover, after high-temperature deep-frying, the protein and fat in peanuts turn into heterocyclic amines, polycyclic amines, and other aromatic substances, increasing their carcinogenicity. Therefore, it is not advisable to often eat deep-fried peanuts.