Article Abstract

Volume 33, No. (5), 2023 (October)
ACTIVITY OF PLANT ESSENTIAL OILS AGAINST OCHRATOXIN A PRODUCING ASPERGILLUS OCHRACEUS
Gull Naz, Aftab Ahmad Anjum, Muhammad Nawaz, Sanaullah Iqbal, Tehreem Ali, Rabia Manzoor

G. Naz¹, A. A. Anjum²*, M. Nawaz³, S. Iqbal⁴, T. Ali⁵, R. Manzoor⁶

¹ Institute of Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan (54000),
² Institute of Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan (54000),
³ Institute of Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan (54000),
⁴ Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Faculty of Bio-Sciences, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan (54000),
⁵ Institute of Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan (54000),
⁶ Institute of Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan (54000),

Corresponding Author: aftab.anjum@uvas.edu.pk
Page Number(s): 1115-1125
Published Online First: June 20, 2023
Publication Date: September 30, 2023
ABSTRACT

Plant essential oils have been used in traditional medicines since ancient times to combat disease and in agro-food science to preserve food stuff. Antifungal activity of plant essential oils was evaluated using different substrates of varied moisture levels against ochratoxin A (OTA) producing Aspergillus ochraceusA.ochraceus (n = 3) isolates were processed for antifungal activity of various essential oils including Zingiber officinaleCurcuma longaEucalyptus globulusSyzygium aromaticum, Nigella sativaElettaria cardamomumCinnamomum verum and Cuminum cyminum extracted by hydro-distillation. To check the antimicrobial activity of essential oils, the highest zone of inhibition recorded was of C. verum (33.67±0.57mm) followed by S. aromaticum(30.33±0.57mm) and the least minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was of S. aromaticum (0.52±0.22 µg/mL) followed by C. verum (0.65±0.22 µg/mL). Antifungal activity was evaluated in term of log reduction and at the exposure time of 60 and 90 min, 6±0.00 log reduction was observed by S. aromaticumC. verum and E. cardamomum with non-significant differences. At 15th, 30th, 45th and 60th day of experiment, toxin production by A. ochraceus at moisture contents (10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 and 70%) in un-inoculated groups and inoculated treated groups with C. verum Essential Oils were found non-significantly different to each other but significantly different from the OTA production in inoculated groups of wheat, maize and rice (intact and broken). At 10% moisture level, OTA production was low and reached to maximum level at 40% moisture level and again decline with increasing moisture level. Cinnamon has showed antifungal activity against A. ochraceus at all moisture levels. The confirmation of inhibition potential of C. verum was evaluated using thin layer chromatography (TLC) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) techniques. This study illustrates that cinnamon oil is effective to inhibit the growth of OTA producing A. ochraceus in stored grains to overcome the economic losses.

Keywords: Antifungal activity, Cinnamomum verum, Dimethyl sulfoxide, Log reduction, Minimum inhibitory concentration

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Print ISSN: 1018-7081

Electronic ISSN: 2309-8694

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