Licorice, Doum, and Banana Peel Extracts Inhibit Aspergillus flavus Growth and Suppress Metabolic Pathway of Aflatoxin B1 Production

Nesrine H Youssef,Najwa A Hamad,Hossam M Zakaria,Sherien Sobhy,Ibrahim A Elsamra,Ahmed A Heflish,Ahmed Abdelkhalek,Said I Behiry,Sameer H Qari,Moustafa M Elshaer,Eldessoky S Dessoky,Saleh Matar

doi:10.3390/agronomy11081587

Abstract

Three different concentrations of four (ethanol, acetone, methanol, and diethyl ether) extracts of licorice, doum, and banana peel were evaluated for antifungal and antimycotoxigenic efficiency against a maize aflatoxigenic fungus, Aspergillus flavus. Among them, the licorice diethyl ether 75% extract was intensely active, showing the best wet and dry weight inhibition and exhibiting the highest efficacy ratio (91%). Regarding aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) production, all the plant extracts tested were effective against AFB1 production after one month of maize storage, with average efficacy ratios ranging from 74.1% to 97.5%. At the same time, Thiram fungicide exhibited an efficacy ratio of 20.14%. The relative expression levels of three structural genes (aflD, aflP, and aflQ) and two regulatory genes (aflR and aflS) were significantly downregulated when compared to untreated maize grains or Thiram-treated maize grains. The doum diethyl ether 75% peel extract showed the highest total phenolic content (60.48 mg GAE/g dry extract wt.) and antioxidant activity (84.71 μg/mL). GC–MS analysis revealed that dimethoxycinnamic acid, aspartic acid, valproic acid, and linoleic acid might imbue the extracts with antioxidant capacities in relation to fungal growth and aflatoxin biosynthesis. Finally, the results suggest that the three plant extracts can be considered a promising source for developing potentially effective and environmentally safer alternative ways to control aflatoxin formation, thus creating a potentially protective method for grain storage.

Highlights

Aspergillus species produce different mycotoxins, i.e., aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, and G2 by Aspergillus flavus, A. parasiticus, A. nomius, and A. pseudotamarii; ochratoxin A by A. ochraceus; patulin by A. clavatus and A. terreus; and cyclopiazonic acid (CPA) by A. flavus and A. versicolor [1,2]
The aflatoxigenic fungal isolate A. flavus was used in this study as a high aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) producer with 26.79 ppb
Using the procedure described by Al-Huqail et al [60], the ITS sequence result identified the isolate as A. flavus, and the sequence was deposited in the GenBank database under accession no. (#MG202161)

Summary

Introduction

Aspergillus species produce different mycotoxins, i.e., aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, and G2 by Aspergillus flavus, A. parasiticus, A. nomius, and A. pseudotamarii; ochratoxin A by A. ochraceus; patulin by A. clavatus and A. terreus; and cyclopiazonic acid (CPA) by A. flavus and A. versicolor [1,2]. Contamination with aflatoxins mainly concerns dried fruit (nuts, peanuts, pistachio nuts, and dried figs), cereal grains (primarily maize and maize products), some spices, and oilseeds [6,7]. Due to their high consumption, maize and groundnuts are primary sources for human exposure to aflatoxin worldwide [8]. Agro-waste may be a source of high-added value products that are potentially useful as beneficial food constituents, food flavors, antioxidants, cosmetics, chemopreventive agents, drugs, or drug adjuvants. Linolenic acid and allylphenol reduced mycelial growth of Rhizoctonia solani by 74% and Pythium ultimum by 65% at 1000 μM, and reduced biomass production; they have been reported to be active against a number of plant pathogens [29,30]

Methods

Results

Conclusion