Efficacy of Acorus calamus L. essential oil as a safe plant‐based antioxidant, Aflatoxin B1 suppressor and broad spectrum antimicrobial against food‐infesting fungi

Abstract

SummaryThe study explores the efficacy of Acorus calamus L. essential oil (EO) as a safe plant‐based broad spectrum antifungal, antiaflatoxin, antioxidant food additive. The oil completely inhibited the growth and toxin production of the toxigenic strain of Aspergillus flavus at 0.4 and 0.25 μL mL−1, respectively. EO exhibited pronounced antifungal activity against sixteen food‐infesting fungal species at 0.5 μL mL−1. The EO showed strong antioxidant efficacy (IC50 1.06 μL mL−1) and nonphytotoxic nature on germination of chickpea seeds. The EO was found nonmammalian toxic showing high LD50 (4877.4 μL kg−1) for mice (oral, acute). The chemical profile of EO was determined through GC and GC–MS analysis. The findings strengthen the possibility of A. calamus EO as a plant‐based food additive in view of its favourable safety profile, antioxidant and antiaflatoxigenic efficacy and broad spectrum antimicrobial activity against food‐infesting fungi.