Investigation of the Antifungal and Anti-Aflatoxigenic Potential of Plant-Based Essential Oils against Aspergillus flavus in Peanuts

species are known to cause damage to food crops and are associated with opportunistic infections in humans. In the United States, significant losses have been reported in peanut production due to contamination caused by the species. This study evaluated the antifungal effect and anti-aflatoxin activ...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Journal of fungi (Basel) Vol. 6; no. 4; p. 383
Main Authors:	Achar, Premila Narayana, Quyen, Pham, Adukwu, Emmanuel C, Sharma, Abhishek, Msimanga, Huggins Zephaniah, Nagaraja, Hanumanthu, Sreenivasa, Marikunte Yanjarappa
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Switzerland MDPI 21-12-2020 MDPI AG
Subjects:	aflatoxin antifungal activity Aspergillus flavus essential oils peanuts Aspergillus flavus aflatoxin essential oils peanuts antifungal activity
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	species are known to cause damage to food crops and are associated with opportunistic infections in humans. In the United States, significant losses have been reported in peanut production due to contamination caused by the species. This study evaluated the antifungal effect and anti-aflatoxin activity of selected plant-based essential oils (EOs) against in contaminated peanuts, Tifguard, runner type variety. All fifteen essential oils, tested by the poisoned food technique, inhibited the growth of at concentrations ranging between 125 and 4000 ppm. The most effective oils with total clearance of the on agar were clove (500 ppm), thyme (1000 ppm), lemongrass, and cinnamon (2000 ppm) EOs. The gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of clove EO revealed eugenol (83.25%) as a major bioactive constituent. An electron microscopy study revealed that clove EO at 500 ppm caused noticeable morphological and ultrastructural alterations of the somatic and reproductive structures. Using both the ammonia vapor (AV) and coconut milk agar (CMA) methods, we not only detected the presence of an aflatoxigenic form of in our contaminated peanuts, but we also observed that aflatoxin production was inhibited by clove EO at concentrations between 500 and 2000 ppm. In addition, we established a correlation between the concentration of clove EO and AFB1 production by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). We demonstrate in our study that clove oil could be a promising natural fungicide for an effective bio-control, non-toxic bio-preservative, and an eco-friendly alternative to synthetic additives against in Georgia peanuts.
ISSN:	2309-608X 2309-608X
DOI:	10.3390/jof6040383