Isolation of medically important fungi from <italic>Ginkgo biloba</italic> leaves and crude ginkgo supplements

Abstract

We observed fungal growth in Ginkgo biloba leaves in the middle of the growth season and isolated Phoma sp. and Curvularia sp. from the affected leaves. We also isolated Aspergillus sp. and Curvularia sp. from brown spots of apparently healthy leaves; Aspergillus sp., Chaetomium sp., Fusarium sp., Penicillium sp. and Aureobasidium sp. from tissue explants from brown spots of Ginkgo tea flakes (from three different suppliers); and Chaetomium sp., Penicillium sp., Aspergillus sp. and Aureobasidium pululans from cold-brewed Ginkgo flake tea (from one supplier). Fungus was not recovered from any of the eight samples of hot-brewed (at 75°C or 90°C for 5 minutes) Ginkgo tea tested, coldor hot-brewed powdered Ginkgo tea (from two suppliers) and three different brands of Ginkgo tea bags. This data indicated that G. biloba leaves and crude supplements derived from crushed Ginkgo leaves could be contaminated by fungi known to be opportunistic pathogens. Name of the department and institution or hospital where the work was done: Department of Biology, Utah Valley University, Orem, UT 84058, USA The source of any support received: Partially supported by a grant from UVSC Foundation, Orem, UT to RHK.