Growth Inhibition of Aspergillus Ochraceus ZMPBF 318 and Penicillium Expansum ZMPBF 565 by Four Essential Oils

Abstract

Fungi produce a large variety of extracellular proteins, organic acids, and other metabolites and can adapt to several environmental conditions. Mycotoxin-producing moulds of the genera Aspergillus and Penicillium are common food contaminants. One of the natural ways to protect food from mould contamination is to use essential oils. In this study, we evaluated the effect of essential oils of cinnamon, lavender, rosemary, and sage at 1 % (v/v) concentration in yeast media inoculated with spores (fi nal concentration 10 6 mL -1 media) of Aspergillus ochraceus ZMPBF 318 and Penicillium expansum ZMPBF 565, alone or in combination, on fungal biomass. Cinnamon showed the best inhibitory effect (100 %). Lavender oil best inhibited the growth of Aspergillus ochraceus (nearly 100 %), and was less successful with Penicillium expansum (having dropped to 57 % on day 28). With cultivation time the inhibitory effect of sage and rosemary oil grew for Aspergillus ochraceus and dropped for Penicillium expansum. These results suggest that fungi can be controlled with essential oils, especially with cinnamon oil.

Effect of Cinnamaldehyde on Morphological Alterations of Aspergillus ochraceus and Expression of Key Genes Involved in Ochratoxin A Biosynthesis

“…The main OTA-producing fungi include Aspergillus ochraceus , Aspergillus carbonarius , Aspergillus niger , Aspergillus westerdijkiae , Penicillium nordicum , and Penicillium verrucosum [ 9 , 13 ]. Of them, A. ochraceus and P. verrucosum are mainly responsible for OTA contamination in wheat, barley, rice, oats, and coffee beans, while other species are mainly responsible for OTA in grapes, raisins, beverages, and wine [ 9 , 13 , 14 , 15 ].…”

The Effects Of Wild Thyme (Thymus Serpyllum L.) Essential Oil Components Against Ochratoxin-Producing Aspergilli / Majčina Dušica (Thymus Serpyllum L.) I Njezine Komponente Protiv Okratoksikotvornih Vrsta Aspergillusa

“…In nature it is produced by Aspergillus ochraceus, A. carbonarius, Penicillium verrucosum, and to a lesser extent by A. niger. A. ochraceus is responsible for OTA in coffee, rice, beverages, while A. carbonarius and A. niger are responsible for OTA in grapes, raisins, and wine (1,2). Moulds and/or mycotoxins in food can endanger human health and pose a huge burden on economy.…”

Penicillium expansum (Blue Mold)

“…Thyme oil vapor (5 μL/plate) was found to be the most effective treatment as it completely inhibited the mycelial growth of all five pathogens including P. expansum in vitro (Sellamuthu et al, 2013). Cinnaman oil, carvacol, citral and thymol showed the greatest inhibitory activities against P. expansum (Venturini et al, 2002;Čvek et al, 2010;Camele et al, 2012). The essential oils of Mentha spicata and Ocimum sanctum at concentrations lower than 1.0% significantly reduced blue mold (Singh and Geeta, 2007).…”