Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Jun;56(6):3145-3150.
doi: 10.1007/s13197-019-03652-6. Epub 2019 May 16.

The effects of different packaging materials, temperatures and water activities to control aflatoxin B1 production by Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus in stored peanuts

Joshua Mark John  1 , Selamat Jinap  1   2 , Zainal Abedin Nur Hanani  1 , Mahmud Ab Rashid Nor-Khaizura  1 , Nik Iskandar Putra Samsudin  1   2
Affiliations

The effects of different packaging materials, temperatures and water activities to control aflatoxin B1 production by Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus in stored peanuts

Joshua Mark John et al. J Food Sci Technol. 2019 Jun.

Abstract

Aflatoxins (AFs) are secondary metabolites produced by aflatoxigenic strains of Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus, the most toxic being aflatoxin B1 (AFB1). The purpose of the present work was to investigate the effects of industrial-grade packaging materials (low-density polyethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene-laminated aluminium); temperatures (25 °C, 30 °C); and water activities (0.74 a w, 0.85 a w) on AFB1 production by A. flavus and A. parasiticus in stored peanut kernels. Commercially-obtained samples were segregated into packaging materials, separately inoculated with the aflatoxigenic Aspergillus spp., and stored for 1 month under various °C + a w regimes. AFB1 production was quantified by high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detector (HPLC-FLD). For A. flavus in PELA, no AFB1 was detected (100% reduction) at 25 °C for both a w tested. For A. parasiticus in PELA, no AFB1 was detected at 25 °C (0.85 a w) and 30 °C (0.74 a w). Highest concentration of AFB1 was detected in LDPE for both A. flavus (46.41 ppb) and A. parasiticus (414.42 ppb), followed by PP (A. flavus 24.29 ppb; A. parasiticus 386.73 ppb). In conclusion, storing peanut kernels in PELA in a dry place at room temperature has been demonstrated as an adequate and inexpensive method in inhibiting growth of Aspergillus spp. and lowering AFB1 contamination in peanuts.

Keywords: Aflatoxin; Aspergillus flavus; Aspergillus parasiticus; Packaging; Peanuts; Storage conditions.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Aflatoxin B1 production (ppb) in peanut kernels inoculated with Aspergillus flavus NRRL 3357 on a low-density polyethylene; LDPE, b polypropylene; PP and c polyethylene-laminated aluminium; PELA, incubated at different temperatures (°C) and water activities (aw) for 1 month. Data are means of triplicates with bars indicating SD. Capital letters indicate significant difference (p < 0.05) between aw and small letters between °C. n.d.: not detected
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Aflatoxin B1 production (ppb) in peanut kernels inoculated with Aspergillus parasiticus FRR 2999 on a low-density polyethylene; LDPE, b polypropylene; PP and c polyethylene-laminated aluminium; PELA, incubated at different temperatures (°C) and water activities (aw) for 1 month. Data are means of triplicates with bars indicating SD. Capital letters indicate significant difference (p < 0.05) between aw and small letters between °C. n.d.: not detected
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Abdel-Hadi A, Schmidt-Heydt M, Parra R, Geisen R, Magan N. A systems approach to model the relationship between aflatoxin gene cluster expression, environmental factors, growth and toxin production by Aspergillus flavus. J R Soc Interface. 2012;9:757–767. doi: 10.1098/rsif.2011.0482. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Abriba C, Lennox JA, Asikong BE, Asitok A, Ikpoh IS, Henshaw EE, Eja ME. Isolation of aflatoxin producing species of Aspergillus from foodstuffs sold in Calabar markets, Cross River state, Nigeria. J Microbiol Biotechnol Res. 2013;3:8–13.
    1. Afsah-Hejri L, Jinap S, Arzandeh S, Mirhosseini H. Optimization of HPLC conditions for quantitative analysis of aflatoxins in contaminated peanut. Food Control. 2011;22:381–388. doi: 10.1016/j.foodcont.2010.09.007. - DOI
    1. Agag BI. Mycotoxins in food and feeds 1: aflatoxins. Assiut University BES. 2004;7:173–206.
    1. Chiou CH, Miller M, Wilson DL, Trail F, Linz JE. Chromosomal location plays a role in regulation of aflatoxin gene expression in Aspergillus parasiticus. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2002;68:306–315. doi: 10.1128/AEM.68.1.306-315.2002. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources