BACKGROUND:The leaves of Ocimum basilicum L. (basil) are used in traditional cuisine as spices; its essential oil has found a wide application in perfumery, dental products as well as antifungal agents.AIM:To assess the chemical composition as well as the in vitro antifungal activity of O. basilicum L. essential oil against Aspergillus flavus fungal growth and aflatoxin B1 production.MATERIAL AND METHODS:The essential oil of O. basilicum was obtained by hydrodistillation and analysed using gas chromatography (GC) and GC coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The essential oil was tested for its effects on Aspergillus flavus (A. flavus) mycelial growth and aflatoxin B1 production in Yeast Extract Sucrose (YES) growth media. Aflatoxin B1 production was determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).RESULTS:Nineteen compounds, representing 96.7% of the total oil were identified. The main components were as follows: linalool (48.4%), 1,8-cineol (12.2%), eugenol (6.6%), methyl cinnamate (6.2%), α-cubebene (5.7%), caryophyllene (2.5%), β-ocimene (2.1%) and α-farnesene (2.0%). The tested oil showed significant antifungal activity that was dependent on the used oil concentration. The complete inhibition of A. flavus growth was observed at 1000 ppm oil concentration, while marked inhibition of aflatoxin B1 production was observed at all oil concentrations tested (500, 750 and 1000 ppm).CONCLUSION:These results confirm the antifungal activities of O. basilicum L. oil and its potential use to cure mycotic infections and act as pharmaceutical preservative against A. flavus growth and aflatoxin B1 production.
AIM:In this study, we evaluated the effect of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) on the production of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) through assessment the transcription activity of aflatoxin biosynthesis pathway genes in Aspergillus flavus ATCC28542.MATERIAL AND METHODS:The mRNAs were quantitative by Real Time-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) of A. flavus grown in yeast extract sucrose (YES) medium containing AgNPs. Specific primers that are involved in the AFB1 biosynthesis which highly specific to A. flavus, O-methyltransferase gene (omt-A), were designed and used to detect the fungus activity by quantitative PCR assay. The AFB1 production (from A. flavus growth) which effected by AgNPs were measured in YES medium by high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC).RESULTS:The AFB1 produced by A. flavus have the highest reduction with 1.5 mg -100 ml of AgNPs were added in media those records 88.2%, 67.7% and 83.5% reduction by using AgNP HA1N, AgNP HA2N and AgNP EH, respectively. While on mycelial growth give significantly inhibitory effect. These results have been confirmed by qRT-PCR which showed that culture of A. flavus with the presence of AgNPs reduced the expression levels of omt-A geneCONCLUSION:Based on the results of the present study, AgNPs inhibit growth and AFB1 produced by Aspergillus flavus ATCC28542. This was confirmed through RT-PCR approach showing the effect of AgNPs on omt-A gene involved in aflatoxin biosynthesis.
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.
Saussurea costus had a wide range of antimicrobial activities which used as alternative for synthetic preservatives that threaten human health. This study aimed to identify the bioactive compounds in S. costus extract (SCE) and to evaluate its antimicrobial activity against some pathogenic microorganisms. HPLC and GC-MS were used to quantify the bioactive compounds in SCE. The results indicated that ethanol and ethyl acetate extracts had the highest levels of polyphenols followed by n-butanol, and then n-hexane extracts. The main phenolic compounds are Naringenin, Chlorogenic acid, Ferulic acid, Ellagic acid, Gallic acid and coffeic acid followed by taxifolin, catechin, syringic acid, methyl gallate, vanillin, kaempferol, cinnamic acid and rutin. GC-MS results showed 14 compounds in S. costus extract. The antibacterial activity of S. costus ethanol extract increased by increasing the concentration of extract from 10 µl to 50 µl for each wells .The inhibition zones were 13 mm and 23mm for S. typhi and Staphylococccus aureus, respectively. Gram (+ve) bacteria found to be more sensitive to SCE than Gram (-ve) bacteria. Similarly; the antifungal activity was increased by increasing the concentration of SCE the inhibition zones were 15.5 mm and 22.5 mm for P. verecossum and A. ochraceous, respectively. A. ochraceous appeared to be more sensitive towards all concentration of the extract. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of SCE for both bacteria and fungi strains ranged from 0.08 -0.3 mg/ml and 0.25 -1.17 mg/ml, respectively. The results revealed that the SCE can play an important role against the human multi-drug resistant pathogens and can alternate the antibiotics as well as chemical preservatives to control infection and food spoilage contaminants.
The health hazardous occurred in both human and animals as a result of the continuous misuse of pesticides drives the researchers for looking about the solution. Natural plant extracts contain active phyto-constituents with antioxidant potency enables them to inhibit production of the free radicals that induce damage of the cells. The present study aimed to reveal efficiency of Saussurea costus (S. costus extract) against the hepato-and neurotoxicity induced by Chloropyrofos ethyl (CPF) in experimental animals (rats). The gas chromatography / mass spectrometer (GC/MS) that used for analyzing the active constituents in S. costus extract showed that the extract contains 11 potent active compounds and Dehydrocostuslactone represents about 77.37% and considered as the most dominant compound in the extract. Both of CPF and S. costus extract were studied on the rats that were divided into 6 groups as the following: Group 1 (control) received distilled water orally. Groups 2&3 (S. costus extract treated groups) received S. costus extract orally at a dose of 0.25 and 0.50 ml, respectively. Group 4 (CPF injected group) was injected with CPF at a dose of 3 mg/kg.bw. Groups 5&6 (CPF + S. costus extract group) injected with CPF then treated with S. costus extract at two tested doses respectively. The most hematological and biochemical measurements declined significantly (P≤0.05) in CPF injected group. S. costus extract restored all tested parameters towards the control values. Moreover, the electrophoretic isoenzyme showed that the physiological alterations occurred in the esterases (ESTs) as a result of CPF injection were represented by hiding normal EST types associated with existence of abnormal ones. Therefore, the similarity index (SI%) and genetic distance (GD%) values were altered with α-EST (SI=80.00%; GD=20.00%) and β-EST (SI=50.00%; GD=50.00%) patterns in CPF injected group. The S. costus extract at a dose of 0.5 ml restored integrity of these isoenzymes pattern by restoring the absent types with hiding the abnormal ones. Therefore, this group became physiologically similar to control group (SI=100.00%; GD=0.00%). These results were supported by histopathological examination for the target organs (brain, liver and kidney) that were affected by CPF and the S. costus extract improved architecture of these organs and restored their histopathological integrity to normal structure.
BACKGROUND: Aflatoxins (AFs) are fungal secondary metabolites produced by Aspergillus flavus. They contaminate of dietary food with AFs is a worldwide problem that affects both food safety and agricultural economies. AIM: The aim of this study was designed to investigate the AFs contents of human food commodities mostly consumed in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. METHODS: The study was designed in vitro, contents in six food categories. A total of 288 samples were collected from 78 different markets in Jeddah. AFs were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detector using immunoaffinity column clean-up. RESULTS: The results indicated that the incidence rate 27.3% of nut samples collected from Jeddah, were contaminated with AFB1, AFB2. The concentrations of AFs (AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, and AFG2) were ranged from 0.19–482.4, 0.09–3.34, 0.19–87.1, to 0.09–579 μg/kg in the nut samples. CONCLUSION: The results demonstrate the importance of routine monitoring of AFs contamination in various dry foods for human consumed should be performed regularly and the nuts contained high levels of AFs. The legal regulations must be unauthorized for human consumption to control the health risks associated with AFs.
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