Flavus Growth Research Articles

The inhibitory effects of Curcuma longa L. essential oil and curcumin on Aspergillus flavus link growth and morphology.

The essential oil from Curcuma longa L. was analysed by GC/MS. The major components of the oil were ar-turmerone (33.2%), α-turmerone (23.5%) and β-turmerone (22.7%). The antifungal activities of the oil were studied with regard to Aspergillus flavus growth inhibition and altered morphology, as preliminary studies indicated that the essential oil from C. longa inhibited Aspergillus flavus Link aflatoxin production. The concentration of essential oil in the culture media ranged from 0.01% to 5.0% v/v, and the concentration of curcumin was 0.01–0.5% v/v. The effects on sporulation, spore viability, and fungal morphology were determined. The essential oil exhibited stronger antifungal activity than curcumin on A. flavus. The essential oil reduced the fungal growth in a concentration-dependent manner. A. flavus growth rate was reduced by C. longa essential oil at 0.10%, and this inhibition effect was more efficient in concentrations above 0.50%. Germination and sporulation were 100% inhibited in 0.5% oil. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of A. flavus exposed to oil showed damage to hyphae membranes and conidiophores. Because the fungus is a plant pathogen and aflatoxin producer, C. longa essential oil may be used in the management of host plants.

Inhibition of Aspergillus flavus on agar media and brown rice cereal bars using cold atmospheric plasma treatment

This study aimed to optimize the operating parameters of cold atmospheric plasma treatment to inhibit the growth of Aspergillus flavus on agar media and brown rice cereal bars. The effects of argon plasma jet treatment on the growth of A. flavus on malt extract agar (MEA) at powers of 20W and 40W with exposure times at 5, 15 and 25min were studied using response surface methodology (RSM) with a central composite face-centered (CCF) design. Multiple regression analysis indicated that plasma treatment at 40W for 25min is most effective for inhibiting growth of A. flavus on the agar medium. On brown rice cereal bars, plasma powered at 40W for 20min was capable of giving protection against A. flavus growth for up to 20days under storage conditions of 25°C and 100% RH. These results demonstrated the potential of cold atmospheric plasma jet treatment to control mold growth on various food products.

English

The efficacy of four concentrations of aqueous extracts of 11 local plants in the management of Aspergillus flavus and aflatoxin contamination was investigated by measuring the dry weight of A. flavus. The extracts of Allium sativum gave the best results, decreasing the dry weight of the fungus, followed by Aloe vera, whereas 20%Coriandrum sativum extract had no significant effect on the fungal dry weight. Aqueous 20% extracts of the herb Thymus vulgaris and the rhizome of Zingiber officinalis most strongly inhibited aflatoxin production for B1 (79.1%), followed by the leaf extracts of Olea europaea and Eucalyptus globulus (75.0%), although the effect on A. flavus growth was moderate. The herb T. vulgaris and extract of Ocimum basilicum leaf showed the strongest inhibition of B2 (76.2%). Conversely, the leaf extracts of Zizyphus spina andCassia italica produced only marginal effects on the percentage of inhibition of aflatoxins B1 and B2. No positive correlation was observed between mycelial growth and aflatoxin production in A. flavus. Key words: Maize, Aspergillus flavus, aflatoxin, aqueous plant extracts.

Aflatoxin B1-reduction of Aspergillus flavus by three medicinal plants (Lamiaceae)

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is one of the most hazardous mycotoxins for humans and livestock that essentially produced by Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus in wide variety of natural substrates such as grains, nuts, food products, etc. Natural sources such as plants and microbes can reduce AFB1-contamination from substrate. In this study, the ability of essential oils (EOs) and various extraction solvents (ethanol, ethanol70% and water extracts) of three medicinal plants (Thymus daenensis, Satureja khozistanica and Satureja macrosiphonia) was investigated for reducing A. flavus growth and it's AFB1-content in the liquid culture by use of HPTLC and HPLC analysis. Interestingly, both T. daenensis and S. khozistanica EOs at 375 mg/l as well as their ethanol extracts at 4000 mg/l could completely inhibit Aspergillus growth. In general, ethanol and ethanol70% extracts of all three plants at 2000 mg/l as well as their EOs at 125 mg/l inhibited (51–87%) AFB1-production and exhibited stronger anti-AFB1-biosyntesis activity than aqueous extract. On the contrary, EOs, ethanol and ehanol70% extracts of the plants couldn't significantly degrade AFB1-contamination whereas their aqueous extracts could significantly degrade AFB1-content. The aqueous extract of T. daenensis (AET) at concentration of 2000 mg/l resulted in reduction of 97% AFB1-level, while those extracted of S. khozistanica and S. macrosiphonia reduced 6–15% AFB1-content. The destractive-AFB1 differed from standard AFB1 chemically, and lost a fluorescence property. In general, EOs and ethanol extracts of both T. daenensis and S. khozistanica considerably inhibited A. flavus growth as well as AFB1-biosynthesis while aqueous extracts of T. daenensis showed strong AFB1-degradation activity and introduced as a new promising candidate for degrading AFB1.

Antifungal activity of orange (Citrus sinensis var. Valencia) peel essential oil applied by direct addition or vapor contact

Vapor contact is an alternative when essential oils (EO's) and microorganisms are placed separately in some sealed environment. The aim of this study was to compare the antifungal efficacy of orange peel EO at selected concentrations, applied either by vapor exposure or direct addition on the growth of Aspergillus flavus. Orange peel EO was obtained from fresh oranges (Citrus sinensis var. Valencia). EO was obtained by vapor distillation, analyzed by means of GC–MS chromatography, and applied to potato-dextrose agar inoculated with A. flavus, using the techniques of direct addition to the agar or by generating EO vapors in airtight containers. Radial growth rate and lag phase were calculated using the Gompertz equation. Main compounds identified in the orange peel EO were: limonene, β-myrcene, β-pinene, α-pinene, as well as citral Z and E; of which, limonene represented 96.62%. The minimum inhibitory concentration for the growth of A. flavus by direct addition was 16,000 mg l−1, while for the vapor contact was 8000 mg of EO l−1 of air. For both studied methods A. flavus growth decreased when increasing EO concentration. Although the effect of orange peel EO direct addition was faster, orange peel EO vapors were more effective, since lower concentrations were required to achieve the same antifungal effect.

EFFECT OF SOME ORGANIC ACIDS ON FUNGAL GROWTH AND THEIR TOXINS PRODUCTION

Many of food products and agricultural crops are contaminated with mycotoxins. Aflatoxins are the secondary metabolites of certain fungi such as Aspergillus flavus which have the ability to be toxigenic, carcinogenic and mutagenic agents. Hence many chemical compounds have been used in feed to prevent the fungal growth and aflatoxin formation. Organic acids have been used to prevent the growth reproduction of harmful fungi and secreting of aflatoxins. The effect of eight organic acids as antifungal agents on the growth of four fungi were studied. Acetic acid (10%) showed the highest inhibition effect on A. flavus growth being 45.21% while tartaric acid (5%) and citric acid (5%) gave the lowest inhibition effect of 0.42%. Formic, acetic and propionic acids had the highest inhibition effect on A. flavus growth. All Different organic acids under present study reduced aflatoxin B1 (AB1) secretion. The highest inhibition (50%) was observed for Rhizopus nigricans in the presence of formic acid (10%)

Modelling Aspergillus flavus growth and aflatoxins production in pistachio nuts

Aflatoxins (AFs) are the main contaminants in pistachio nuts. AFs production in pistachio has been attributed to Aspergillus flavus. The aim of this study was to apply existing models to predict growth and AFs production by an A. flavus isolated from pistachios as a function of moisture content and storage temperature of pistachios in order to test their usefulness and complementarities. A full factorial design was used: the moisture content levels assayed were 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30% and incubation temperatures were 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 37 and 42 °C. Both kinetic and probability models were built to predict growth of the strain under the assayed conditions. Among the assayed models, cardinal ones gave a good quality fit for radial growth rate data. Moreover, the progressive approach, which was developed based on a reduced number of experimental points led to an improved prediction in the validation step. This is quite significant as may allow for improved experimental designs, less costly than full factorial ones. Probability model proved to be concordant in 91% of the calibration set observations. Even though the validation set included conditions around the growth/no-growth interface, there was a 100% agreement in the predictions from the data set (n = 16, cut off = 0.5) after 60 days. Similarly, the probability for AF presence was rightly predicted in 89% of the cases. According to our results EC maximum aflatoxin levels would be surpassed in a period as short as 1 month if pistachio nuts reach 20 °C, unless %mc is ≤10%.

Inhibiting Aspergillus flavus growth and degrading aflatoxin B1 by combined beneficial microbes

Aflatoxin B 1 (AFB 1 ) is a type of toxin produced by Aspergillus flavus , which has a negative effect on animal production and economic profits. In order to inhibit A. flavus growth and degrade aflatoxin, the optimal proportion of beneficial microbes such as Lactobacillus casei, Bacillus subtilis and Pichia anomala were selected. The results show that AFB 1 production and mycelium weight of A. flavus was decreased by more than 34 folds (161.05 vs. 4.69 µ/L) and 7.7 folds (6.98 vs. 0.90 mg/ml) with the free-cell supernatants of L. casei and B. subtilis (P<0.05), respectively. The optimal proportion of L. casei, B. subtilis and P. anomala was 2:1:2 for inhibiting A. flavus growth determined by 3x3 orthogonal design. Based on the optimal proportion of three microbial species, the maximum AFB1 degradation was during 24 to 48 h incubation (P<0.05). When three species of beneficial microbes were mixed with yeast cell wall and oligosaccharide, both of them could not help the microbes in AFB1 degradation. The combined microbial incubation showed that AFB1 contents in the supernatant and cells were 10.25 (P<0.05) and 3.34 µg/L, lower than the control group (68.55 µg/L), indicating that most of the AFB 1 were degraded by the microbes and only a little of them were absorbed and deposited in microbial cells. Key words : Aspergillus flavus, aflatoxin B 1 detoxification, beneficial microbes, yeast cell wall, oligosaccharide.

Efficacy of Cassia alata Leaves Powder on Inhibition of Aspergillus flavus Growth and Aflatoxin Production

Efficacy of Cassia alata Leaves Powder on Inhibition of Aspergillus flavus Growth and Aflatoxin Production

Evaluation of antifungal activity of seaweed extracts

Seaweeds are subject to numerous biological interactions and sometimes to extreme abiotic conditions, so they have developed among other defense mechanisms, the ability to produce biologically active substances. Thus, these organisms produce mainly terpenes and phenols. Among others, the antifungal activity, due to its importance in human and animal health and the production of agricultural products, has been the subject of several studies. In the present work, this activity was investigated in ten seaweeds extracts, by direct bioautography assays, compared to Colletotrichum lagenarium and disk diffusion assay, compared to Aspergillus flavus. The organisms studied were: Stypopodium zonale, Laurencia dendroidea, Ascophyllum nodosum, Sargassum muticum, Pelvetia canaliculata, Fucus spiralis, Sargassum filipendula, Sargassum stenophyllum, Laminaria hyperborea and Gracilaria edulis. S. zonale, L. dendroidea, P. canaliculata, S. muticum, A. nodosum and F. spiralis extracts significantly inhibited the C. lagenarium growth, but not inhibited significantly the A. flavus growth. The presence of terpenes in all of these extracts was confirmed by thin layer chromatography whereas the presence of phenolic compounds was confirmed only in extracts of P. canaliculata, A. nodosum and S. muticum. In chemical study by column chromatography, followed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis, the terpenes neophytadiene, cartilagineol, obtusol elatol; and the ester ethyl hexadecanoate were identified in the L. dendroidea extract. This is the first report on the activity of seaweed extracts against C. lagenarium, a fungus bearing agricultural importance.

Kemampuan Bakteri Asam Laktat Dalam Menghambat Pertumbuhan dan Produksi Aflatoksin B2 Aspergilllus flavus

Aflatoxins are highly toxic secondary metabolies produced during the growth of several fungi, especiallyAspergillus flavus. AFB1 and AFB2 one of them which contaminates a wide variety of food and feed causing serioushealth problem when consumed by human or animals. This research was aimed to study the potency of Lactic AcidBacteria (LAB) in the inhibition of Aspergillus flavus growth and the production of Aflatoxin B2. Three species ofLAB i.e. Lactobacillus delbrueckii , L. fermentum, L. plantarum were investigated for their potential in inhibitingand degradation of Aflatoxin B2 as well as inhibiting fungal growth. The trial was designed into three variations ofeach isolate by challenging the fungal culture, before fungal inoculation, at the same time as fungal inoculation andafter fungal inoculation. It was found that all the three species of LAB are potential microorganism to inhibitfungal growth as indicated by the reduction of the dry weight of fungal mycelia compared with control.Quantification of Aflatoxin B2 showed that L. fermentum gave the strongest degradation of Aflatoxin B1 during 15days incubation, then followed by L. plantarum and L delbruekii with a reduction rate of 0,,2408 ppm, 0,3373 ppm,0,6393 ppm respectively, compared with control these are significantly different. These result conclude thatAflatoxin B2 can be degraded or prevented to be produced by A. flavus by applying LAB.

Proteomic Analysis Reveals an Aflatoxin-Triggered Immune Response in Cotyledons of Arachis hypogaea Infected with Aspergillus flavus

An immune response is triggered in host cells when host receptors recognize conserved molecular motifs, pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), such as β-glucans, and chitin at the cell surface of a pathogen. Effector-triggered immunity occurs when pathogens deliver effectors into the host cell to suppress the first immune signaling. Using a differential proteomic approach, we identified an array of proteins responding to aflatoxins in cotyledons of peanut (Arachis hypogaea) infected with aflatoxin-producing (toxigenic) but not nonaflatoxin-producing (atoxigenic) strains of Aspergillus flavus. These proteins are involved in immune signaling and PAMP perception, DNA and RNA stabilization, induction of defense, innate immunity, hypersensitive response, biosynthesis of phytoalexins, cell wall responses, peptidoglycan assembly, penetration resistance, condensed tannin synthesis, detoxification, and metabolic regulation. Gene expression analysis confirmed the differential abundance of proteins in peanut cotyledons supplemented with aflatoxins, with or without infection with the atoxigenic strain. Similarly, peanut germination and A. flavus growth were altered in response to aflatoxin B1. These findings show an additional immunity initiated by aflatoxins. With the PAMP- and effector-triggered immune responses, this immunity constitutes the third immune response of the immune system in peanut cotyledon cells. The system is also a three-grade coevolution of plant-pathogen interaction.

Chemical Profile, Antioxidant, Antifungal and Antiaflatoxigenic Activity of Parsley and Ginger Volatile and Non-Volatile Extracts

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is a highly toxic and carcinogenic metabolite produced by Aspergillus species on food and agricultural commodities. Natural products refer that aromatic components of spices can control the production of aflatoxins. With a view to controlling aflatoxin production, the volatile and nonvolatile extracts from parsley and ginger were obtained by hydrodistillation and ethanol extraction. Antifungal activities of the extracts were studied with special reference to the inhibition of Aspergillus flavus growth and aflatoxin production. Minimal inhibitory (MIC) and minimal fungicidal concentrations of the extracts were determined. Parsley essential oil showed a stronger inhibitory effect than ginger on the growth of A. flavus. On the contrary, ginger ethanolic extract has superior inhibition for aflatoxin production at 20000 ppm (92.93 %). The essential oils of parsley and ginger analyzed by GC-MS) comprised 19.17 % and 8.67 % monoterpenes, 59.74 % and 82.8 % sesquiterpenes, 1.99 % and 3.18 % oxygenated monoterpenes, and 18.98 % and 3.93 % oxygenated sesquiterpenes, respectively and the major volatile compounds in the parsley were myristicin (44%), apiole (16.8%), copaene (13.39%) and β-pinene (6.91%), where as zingibrine (37.65 %), δ-amorphene (19.76%) and α-curcumin (11.32 %) in ginger oil. The antioxidant activity (IC50) of parsley extracts, as compared with that of TBHQ were superior to ginger extracts in DPPH and β-carotene/bleaching assays. It is concluded that both the essential oils could be safely used as preservative materials for some kinds of foods to protect them from toxigenic fungal infections and highlight the potential of this food plants for their possible clinical uses.

&lt;i&gt;In Vitro&lt;/i&gt; Inhibition of Growth and Aflatoxin B1 Production of &lt;i&gt;Aspergillus Flavus&lt;/i&gt; Strain (ATCC 16872) by Various Medicinal Plant Essential Oils

The hazardous nature of aflatoxins to human and animals necessitate the need for establishment of control measures. The objective of this study was to evaluate the inhibition of growth and aflatoxin production of Aspergillus flavus strain (ATCC 16872) by various essential oils in Yeast Extract Sucrose (YES) growth media at 25°C. Essential oils of basil, fennel, coriander, caraway, peppermint and rosemary were tested for their effects on mycelial growth and aflatoxin production. Aflatoxin B1 production was determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The findings of this study revealed the antifungal efficacy of the all tested essential oils. The extent of inhibition of fungal growth and aflatoxin production was dependent on the type and concentration of essential oils used. The complete inhibition of Aspergillus flavus growth was observed at 1000 ppm concentrations of essential oils of basil, coriander, caraway and rosemary. While, essential oils of basil and coriander showed marked inhibition of aflatoxin B1 produced by Aspergillus flavus at all concentrations tested 500,750 and 1000 ppm.

IN VIVO EFFECT OF MINT (MENTHA VIRIDIS) ESSENTIAL OIL ON GROWTH AND AFLATOXIN PRODUCTION BY ASPERGILLUS FLAVUS ISOLATED FROM STORED CORN

ABSTRACT The effect of mint (Mentha viridis) essential oil (EO) on Aspergillus flavus growth and aflatoxin production was investigated in stored corn and evaluated. A. flavus was isolated from stored corn and identified as an aflatoxigenic strain. Conical flasks of 250 mL each containing 100 g of corn were sterilized by autoclave (121C, 15 lbs/in2 for 15 min) and artificially inoculated with A. flavus approximately 106 cfu/mL (control sample). Other samples were inoculated in the same manner as the control, but with the addition of different values of mint EO (50, 100, 200, 300, 500 and 700 µL/100 g corn). Mint EO was fungistatic at all concentrations, fungicidal and antiaflatoxigenic at 300, 500 and 700 µL/100 g corn from 7 days storage up to the end of storage at 21 days. Minimum inhibitory concentration for A. flavus was found to be 200 µL/100 g corn, and also limited the aflatoxin production to be under the safety level of 20 ppb determined by the Food and Agricultural Organization and World Health Organization. Mint EO could be used as fungicidal and antiaflatoxigenic agents for A. flavus in stored corn especially in granaries. Mint EO is safe, acceptable and extends the storage period of corn. PRACTICAL APPLICATION It could be applied to preserve cereals, especially in granaries for a long storage period, that mint essential oil Mentha viridis can be used as antifungal and antiaflatoxigenic and a safe alternative instead of chemicals, which have hazardous effects on human and animal health.

Inhibitory activity of lactic and acetic acid on Aspergillus flavus growth for food preservation

In this study acetic and lactic acid Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) were determined for different Aspergillus flavus strains in solid medium: toxigenic strains A. flavus AFUNL1, AFUNL2 and AFUNL3; and a non-toxigenic strain A. flavus AFUNQ6. A. flavus AFUNQ6 was the most resistant strain to acetic acid, with a MIC value of 41.6mM (pH 4,62) while acetic acid MIC was the same for the three toxigenic strains (38.1mM, pH 4.69), the lactic acid MIC was different for all the strains: 357.7mM (pH 2.74), 405.4mM (pH 2.69), 274.2mM (pH 2.95) and 393.4mM (pH 2.59) for A. flavus AFUNQ6, AFUNL1, AFUNL2 and AFUNL3 respectively. MIC values for non dissociated lactic acid were almost tenfold higher than MIC vales for non dissociated acetic acid for the A. flavus strains.Growth kinetic parameters: growth rate (KD) and lag phase were determined to evaluate fungal inhibition. An increase of undissociated acid concentration produced a decrease in KD values and an increase in lag phase duration. Lactic and acetic acid mixtures showed a synergistic effect, reducing the concentration necessary of every acid in the mixture for fungal inhibition compared with the individual MIC values. The minimal acids mixture that obtained the fungal inhibition for all the strains was lactic acid 78mM acetic Acid 31.2mM at a pH 3.4.

Volatile Trans‐2‐Hexenal, a Soybean Aldehyde, Inhibits Aspergillus flavus Growth and Aflatoxin Production in Corn

Trans-2-hexenal, a volatile aldehyde, is produced by soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr) and other plants via the lipoxygenase pathway. In vitro tests showed it significantly (P < 0.001) reduced Aspergillus flavus germinating conidial viability at 10 μM, with approximately 95% viability reduction observed at 20 μM. The viability of nongerminated conidia was not reduced. To test the effectiveness of this volatile to prevent fungal growth in stored corn, trans-2-hexenal was pumped intermittently into glass jars containing corn. Experiments were performed to determine the ability of 2 different pump cycle time-courses to prevent A. flavus growth on sterile corn (23% moisture). Intermittently (30-min pumping period) over 7 d, this volatile was pumped through 350 g of corn kernels inoculated with 1 mL of 3 × 10⁴ conidia of A. flavus. Controls consisted of (1) sterile corn, (2) corn inoculated with A. flavus with no pumped air, and (3) corn inoculated with A. flavus with intermittently pumped air. Aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁), viability counts, and aldehyde concentration in the headspace were performed in each experiment. To determine whether an increased time period between volatile pumping would prevent A. flavus growth, a 2nd series of experiments were performed that were similar to the 1st series except that trans-2-hexenal (only) was pumped for a 30-min period every 12 h. Experiments were performed 3 times for each time course. Both experiments showed that intermittent pumping of volatile trans-2-hexenal significantly (P < 0.001) prevented A. flavus growth and aflatoxin B₁ production over a 7-d period. Results from this study indicate that intermittent pumping of volatile trans-2-hexenal could be used to protect stored corn from A. flavus growth and aflatoxin contamination.

The potential inhibitory effect of cuminum cyminum, ziziphora clinopodioides and nigella sativa essential oils on the growth of Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus.

The goals of this study were to evaluate the effectiveness of Cuminum cyminum, Ziziphora clinopodioides and Nigella sativa essential oils to inhibit the growth of Aspergillus fumigatus and A. flavus and to evoke ultrastructural changes. The fungi were cultured into RPMI 1640 media in the presence of oils at concentrations of 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.5, 1.25, 1, 0.75 and 0.5 mg/ml in broth microdilution and 2, 1.5, 1 and 0.5 mg/ml in broth macrodilution methods with shaking for 48 h at 28oC. Conidial and mycelial samples exposed to 0.25, 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2 mg essential oils/ml for 5 days in 2% yeast extract granulated plus 15% Saccharose media were processed for transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Based on broth dilution methods, C. cyminum and to a lesser extent Z. clinopodioides oils exhibited the strongest activity against A. fumigatus and A. flavus with MIC90 ranging from 0.25 to 1.5 mg/ml, while the oil from N. sativa exhibited relatively moderate activity against two above fungi with MIC90 ranging from 1.5 to 2 mg/ml. The main changes observed by TEM were in the cell wall, plasma membrane and membranous organelles; in particular, in the nuclei and mitochondria. These modifications in fungal structure were associated with the interference of the essential oils with the enzymes responsible for cell wall synthesis, which disturbed normal growth. Moreover, the essential oils caused high vacuolation of the cytoplasm, detachment of fibrillar layer of cell wall, plasma membrane disruption and disorganization of the nuclear and mitochondrial structures. Aspergillus fumigatus and A. flavus growth inhibition induced by these oils were found to be well-correlated with subsequent morphological changes of the fungi exposed to different fungistatic concentrations of the oils. Our results show the anti-Aspergillus activities of C. cyminum, Z. clinopodioides and N. sativa essential oils, which strengthens the potential use of these substances as anti-mould in the future.

Chemical Profile, Antioxidant, Antifungal and Antiaflatoxigenic Activity of Parsley and Ginger Volatile and Non-volatile Extracts

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is a highly toxic and carcinogenic metabolite produced by Aspergillus species on food and agricultural commodities. Natural products refer that aromatic components of spices can control the production of aflatoxins. With a view to controlling aflatoxin production, the volatile and non-volatile extracts from parsley and ginger were obtained by hydrodistillation and ethanol extraction. Antifungal activities of the extracts were studied with special reference to the inhibition of Aspergillus flavus growth and aflatoxin production. Parsley essential oil showed a stronger inhibitory effect than ginger on the growth of A. flavus. On the contrary, ginger ethanolic extract has superior inhibition for aflatoxin production at 20000 ppm (92.93 %). The essential oils of parsley and ginger analyzed by GC-MS) comprised 19.17 % and 8.67 % monoterpenes, 59.74 % and 82.8 % sesquiterpenes, 1.99 % and 3.18 % oxygenated monoterpenes, and 18.98 % and 3.93 % oxygenated sesquiterpenes, respectively and the major volatile compounds in the parsley were myristicin (44 %), apiole (16.8 %), copaene (13.39 %) and ß-pinene (6.91 %), where as zingibrine (37.65 %), ô-amorphene (19.76 %) and Ot-curcumin (11.32 %) in ginger oil. The antioxidant activity (IC50) of parsley extracts, as compared with that of TBHQ were superior to ginger extracts in DPPH and ß-carotene/bleaching assays. It is concluded that both the essential oils could be safely used as preservative materials for some kinds of foods to protect them from toxigenic fungal infections and highlight the potential of this food plants for their possible clinical uses.

Effect of methanolic extract for (leaves and roots) of Bacopa monniera L. aerial plant parts on the growth of some bacteria and fungi

he project was conducted to study the inhibitory activity of methanolic extract for aerial parts (leaves and roots) of Bacopa monniera L. on some bacterial species represented by: Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherchie coli, Klebsellia sp. Shigella sp., by using the Agar-well diffusion method for estimating the Minimum Inhibition Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) as well as two type of fungi, Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus, the fungi used to study the antifungal activity of plant extract. The results showed a difference in the effect for the types of bacteria as the value of (MIC) for the types Bacillus cereus, Shigella sp. and Klebsellia sp. Is a (100, 200, 200) while there was no effect of the extract against other bacterial species under study.As for the fungi testing, the extract has a clear effect by measuring the mean of growth diameter for fungi, where the growth diameter of the fungus A. niger 1.03 cm at the concentration 50mg/ml while the diameter became 0.5 cm at the 300 mg/ml concentrate in the first day, and in the seventh day of the experiment, the growth diameter reached 7.03 cm at the 50 mg/ml concentrate but the concentration 300mg/ml were 6.4 cm compared with control, which amounted to 7.6 cm. As for the fungi A. flavus growth diameter (1.1 , 0.46) cm at concentrations (50, 300) mg/ml in the first day of the experiment, in the seventh day the diameter was (4.73,3.9) cm at concentrations (50, 300) mg/ml respectively, while the diameter of growth has been different at the other concentrations and within test days.