Ammoides pusilla Essential Oil: A Potent Inhibitor of the Growth of Fusarium avenaceum and Its Enniatin Production.

Yasmine Chakroun,Souheib Oueslati,Florence Richard-Forget,Jean-Michel Savoie,Manef Abderrabba,Vessela Atanasova

doi:10.3390/molecules26226906

Abstract

Enniatins are mycotoxins produced by Fusarium species contaminating cereals and various agricultural commodities. The co-occurrence of these mycotoxins in large quantities with other mycotoxins such as trichothecenes and the possible synergies in toxicity could lead to serious food safety problems. Using the agar dilution method, Ammoides pusilla was selected among eight Tunisian plants for the antifungal potential of its essential oil (EO) on Fusarium avenaceum mycelial growth and its production of enniatins. Two EO batches were produced and analyzed by GC/MS-MS. Their activities were measured using both contact assays and fumigant tests (estimated IC50 were 0.1 µL·mL−1 and 7.6 µL·L−1, respectively). The A. pusilla EOs and their volatiles inhibited the germination of spores and the mycelial growth, showing a fungistatic but not fungicidal activity. The accumulation of enniatins was also significantly reduced (estimated IC50 were 0.05 µL·mL−1 for the contact assays and 4.2 µL·L−1 for the fumigation assays). The most active batch of EO was richer in thymol, the main volatile compound found. Thymol used as fumigant showed a potent fungistatic activity but not a significant antimycotoxigenic activity. Overall, our data demonstrated the bioactivity of A. pusilla EO and its high potential to control F. avenaceum and its enniatins production in agricultural commodities.

Highlights

Global food safety and sufficiency are facing increasing threats due to climate changes and the consequences on crop production yield, distribution and exposure to pests and diseases [1], to demography growth (United Nations, s.d.) and biodiversity decreases [2]
Enniatins (ENNs) are a main group of emergent mycotoxins produced by several Fusarium species such as F. avenaceum, F. tricinctum, F. acuminatum that have been detected in various foodstuffs in large amounts [6,11]
The present study evidenced for the first time the capacity of essential oils and their volatile parts to efficiently reduce the production of ENNs by a F. avenaceum strain, in addition to fungistatic activities

Summary

Introduction

Global food safety and sufficiency are facing increasing threats due to climate changes and the consequences on crop production yield, distribution and exposure to pests and diseases [1], to demography growth (United Nations, s.d.) and biodiversity decreases [2]. One of the major hazards that have been threatening food safety during the last decades is mycotoxins contamination [3]. The contamination of crops by these fungi causes an important economic loss and the contamination by their mycotoxins is an important hazard on the animal and human health [7]. WHO and FAO have regulated the allowed amount of several of these toxins in multiple food matrixes [8]. An increase in the occurrence of “emergent mycotoxins” was recorded worldwide in the last decade. No evidence of an acute mycotoxicosis has been reported but the increasing frequency of the occurrence of ENNs detected, their bioaccumulation ability and their possible toxicological synergy with other mycotoxins could lead to serious food security concerns. No evidence of an acute mycotoxicosis has been reported but the increasing frequency of the occurrence of ENNs detected, their bioaccumulation ability and their possible toxicological synergy with other mycotoxins could lead to serious food security concerns. [6,11]

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