Detection of mycobiota, aflatoxigenic and ochratoxigenic genes, and cytotoxic ability in spices

Abstract

Spices are portions of plants because their properties are used as colorants, preservatives, or medicine. The employments of spices have been known since long time, and the interest in the capability of spices is astounding because of the chemical compounds contained in spices. The molds grow on a variety of different crops and foodstuffs including spices often under warm and humid conditions. The mycobiota of five spice species were surveyed. Forty‐six fungal species were obtained. Aspergillus flavus and A. niger were the prevalent species recorded. The aflatoxins (AFs) and ochratoxins (OTs) were detected in some samples and isolates. Cumin had the highest concentration of AFs 8.2 ppb, while ginger had a considerable occurrence of OTs 6.7 ppb. A. flavus obtained from ginger recorded the maximum concentration of AFs 7.5 ppb, and A. niger from turmeric was the highest producer for OTs 3.6 ppb. omt‐A and Aopks genes were detected in all tested A . flavus isolates and two out of four A. niger isolates. One of the important properties of spices is cancer etiology and prevention. Ginger and sage were the highest cytotoxic against four human tumor cell lines.

Molecular profile of aflatoxigenic and non-aflatoxigenic isolates of Aspergillus flavus isolated from stored maize

“…They are most suitable for the first screening of a large community of potentially serious Aspergillus isolates in less time and limited resources ( Rao et al, 2020 ). The HPLC system used for detection and measurement of AFs is specific, highly sensitive, and accurate in A. flavus isolates and well known in many agricultural crops, such as maize ( Sserumaga et al, 2020 ), wheat ( Al-Wadai et al, 2013 ) peanut, ( Norlia et al, 2018 ) and spices ( El-Dawy et al, 2019 ).…”

Prevalence of lipase producer Aspergillus niger in nuts and anti-biofilm efficacy of its crude lipase against some human pathogenic bacteria

“…The obtained results in harmony with Massi et al 42 , who reported that pks gene was detected in all Aspergillus niger positive ochratoxgenic strains isolated from Brazilian foods amongst, nuts and dried fruits. Aopks genes were detected at 549 bp in A. niger isolates that had ability to produce ochratoxins 43 , 44 . All tested A. niger and A. tubingensis isolated from beef showed positive results for the presence of pks genes 45 .…”

“…Filtration through a fluted filter paper (Whatman 2 V, Whatmanplc, Middlesex,UK). Total ochratoxins were determined according to the method mentioned by El-Dawy et al 44 in 10 ml fungal filtrate by adding 90 ml (methanol: water) (80:20 v/v) and the filtrate was diluted (1:4) with distilled water and re-filtered through a glass-fiber filter paper. Ten milliliters of the glass-fiber filtrate were placed on Ochra test WB SR Column (VICAM, Watertown, MA, USA) and allowed to elute at 1–2 drops/s.…”

Aflatoxins Occurrence in Spices

“…Yet no survey is accessible on AFs incidence in composite spices. Some studies have informed that spices are considerably more contaminated with AFs than other foods [50]. Furthermore, chilli, red and black peppers were found to be more contaminated as compare to other spices as reported from India, Pakistan, Turkey, Iran, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Nigeria [4,51].…”