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. 2011 Jan;42(1):172-80.
doi: 10.1590/S1517-83822011000100021.

Patulin accumulation in apples during storage by penicillium expansum and penicillium griseofulvum strains

Juliane Elisa Welke  1 , Michele Hoeltz, Horacio Alberto Dottori, Isa Beatriz Noll
Affiliations

Patulin accumulation in apples during storage by penicillium expansum and penicillium griseofulvum strains

Juliane Elisa Welke et al. Braz J Microbiol. 2011 Jan.

Abstract

A part of apples destined to juice production is generally of poor quality. Apples from cold storage or recently harvest (ground harvested or low quality apples) are stored under ambient conditions until they are processed. Since Penicillium expansum and P. griseofulvum are the principal fungal species isolated from stored apples in Brazil, the objective of this study was to investigate the ability of these strains to produce patulin in apples and report the consequences of this type of storage in loss of quality. The toxin was quantified using thin layer chromatography and charge-coupled device camera (TLC-CCD). The rate and quantities that P. expansum and P. griseofulvum can grow and produce patulin are highly dependent on the fungal strain and time. Lesion diameter resulted to be independent of the strain considered. The maximum period of time which apples were kept at cold storage (4 °C) without patulin accumulation was 27 days. When these apples were kept at 25 °C during 3 days, both factors lesion diameter and patulin production increased significantly. These results confirm that time in which apples are taken out from cold storage room before juice production is critical in order to prevent patulin accumulation.

Keywords: Apple; Patulin; Penicillium expansum; Penicillium griseofulvum.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Lesion diameters growth at 25°C for 1, 3, 5 and 7 days in apples inoculated with P. expansum (strains PE39, PE45, PE51 and PE8) and P. griseofulvum (strains PG30 and PG12) (error bars represent mean ± standard deviation).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Patulin production by P. expansum (strains PE39, PE45, PE51 and PE8) and P. griseofulvum (strains PG30 and PG12) in apples at 25°C after 1, 3, 5 and 7 days (error bars represent mean ± standard deviation).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Lesion diameters (a) and patulin production (b) by strains of P. expansum (strains PE39, PE45, PE51 and PE8) and P. griseofulvum (strains PG30 and PG12) in apples at 4°C during 30 days and after this period kept at 25°C after 3 days.
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