Mycopopulations of grain and flour of wheat, corn and buckwheat

Abstract

According to the nutritive characteristics, whole grain flour is a high quality product, due to its high vitamin, mineral, and dietary fiber content. However, the cereal grains are susceptible to the series of contamination during the ripening, harvesting, processing and storage. The aim of this work was to determine mold presence in grains and flour of wheat, corn and buckwheat. The determination of total number and identification of isolated genera and species of molds were the subject of this research. All samples were contaminated with the molds. The total number of molds per 100 cereal grains was between 60 cfu (wheat) and 120 cfu (buckwheat). The total number of molds in the samples of flour ranged from 6.0x10 1 cfu/g in white wheat flour to 5.0 x10 2 cfu/g in buckwheat whole grain flour (DG18 medium). Eight fungal genera (Alternaria, Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Chrysonilia, Fusarium, Penicillium, Rhizopus and Scopulariopsis) and fifteen species were isolated. The largest number of species of molds was isolated from the genus Aspergillus. About 66.7% of isolated fungi belonged to potentially toxigenic species. The results pointed out the necessity of grain surface treatment, preceding the milling of grains in wheat, corn and whole grain buckwheat flour production.

Potential application of lactic acid starters in the reduction of aflatoxin contamination in fermented sorghum-millet beverages

“…were reported as the common fungal contaminants in sorghum and millet flours (Hussaini et al 2009;Osamwonyi and Wakil 2012;Weledesemayat et al 2016). The levels of mold contamination in this study are also in agreement with other authors (N'Guessan et al 2014;Alborch et al 2012;Plavšić et al 2017;Ntuli et al 2013). Cereal grains such as maize, sorghum and millet, which are common raw materials for traditional fermented beverages, are quite susceptible to molds contamination (Ezekiel et al 2018).…”

Physicochemical characterization and microbiology of wheat and rye flours

“…Microorganisms are constant contaminants of grain flours, because they originate from the cereals vegetation period, and they are an integral part of the grain mass. Under unfavourable conditions they are inactive and do not present a potential hazard (Plavšić et al, 2017).…”

Micronized Oat Husk: Particle Size Distribution, Phenolic Acid Profile and Antioxidant Properties

“…Microorganisms are an integral part of cereal grains. The external parts of grains such as OH are especially susceptible to contamination during the period of grain ripening, harvesting, and storage [ 39 ]. Although microorganisms do not grow under lower water activity, bacteria and fungi can thrive for a long time, and under favourable conditions, they become active and present a potential hazard [ 40 ].…”