Abstract
The presence of mycotoxins as a result of fungal attack can occur before, after and during the harvest and storage operations on agricultural crops and food commodities. Considering the inhibitory property of essential plant oils on the mycelial development of fungi and the importance of Aspergillus flavus, the main producer of aflatoxins, this research was designed to evaluate the toxicity of essential oil from Pittosporum undulatum against A. flavus. The essential oils were obtained from P. undulatum leaves, collected in different months and analyzed by GC/MS. The oils were rich in hydrocarbon, monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes and it was observed a significant variation on the chemical composition of the essential oil of leaves at different months. Besides, the essential oils were tested against fungal growth and the results showed different spectrum of inhibition on A. flavus. However, the essential oils inhibited the aflatoxin B1 production.
Highlights
The increase of demand for safe and organic food, without chemical preservatives, provokes many researchers to investigate the antimicrobial effects of natural compounds
The present study report the principal components of the essentials oils obtained from leaves of P. undulatum collected in Ribeirão Pires at different months and their antifungal activity on Aspergillus flavus
Chemical analysis by GC/MS of the essential oil from leaves of P. undulatum collected in Group I and Group III led to identiûcation of 11 and 14 main compounds, respectively and the Group II was constituted by 16 main compounds (Table 1)
Summary
The increase of demand for safe and organic food, without chemical preservatives, provokes many researchers to investigate the antimicrobial effects of natural compounds. Nogueria et al (2010) related the activity of Ageratum conyzoides (Asteraceae) essential oil at 30 μg/mL, to 0.10 μg/mL concentrations inhibited the growth of the Aspergillus flavus on average 55% and the aflatoxin production was completely inhibited all the concentrations. Pittosporum undulatum (Pittosporaceae) (named “pau-incenso” in Brazil) presents a characteristic smell from leaves and fruits. This species has been found as a wild plant in tropical forest from Africa, Asia and New Zealand and have been planted as ornamental specie in other tropical regions of the world such as Brazilian cities (Lago et al, 2006). The present study report the principal components of the essentials oils obtained from leaves of P. undulatum collected in Ribeirão Pires at different months and their antifungal activity on Aspergillus flavus
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