Natural Occurrence of Aflatoxin in Different Egusi Typesfound in Nigeria
Journal Title: IOSR Journal of Agriculture and Veterinary Science (IOSR-JAVS) - Year 2019, Vol 12, Issue 1
Abstract
Egusi is one of the crops of regional importance in West Africa because it is an important export commodity.It is mostly infected with aflatoxigenic species of Aspergillus flavus whichproduces carcinogenic aflatoxins. There are many close relatives of egusi which are characterized based on the seed type and seed coat colour. No studies have been conducted to compare the production of aflatoxins in different types of melon which are consumed in Nigeria. This study was undertaken to determine the occurrence of A. flavus and aflatoxins in different types of egusi kernels. Six types of egusi present in each Southwestern Nigerian state were sampled. Approximately ½k g of162 samples of the different egusi typeswere purchased twice in 2012 and 2013 from selected traders and taken to the laboratory for aflatoxin analysis, Aspergillus isolationand identification.Aflatoxin concentration (µg kg-1 ) in egusi samples was determined using standard analytical procedures and quantified using scanning densitometer. Data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics and ANOVA at α0.05. A. flavus (51.1±2.4%) was most prevalent followed by A. tamarii (31.8±1.9%), while A. ochraceus(0.3±0.2%) was the leastin all egusi types. Incidence of Aspergillus species was highest in egusi Igbaa (61.7±9.6%) and lowest in egusi Itoo (43.5±0.2%).Aflatoxin-B (6.9 - 109.5 µg kg-1 ), Aflatoxin-G (0.9 - 35.8 µg kg-1 ) and A. flavus (7.0 –14.0%) were detected in all the six types of egusi.Aspergillus flavus was the most prevalent Aspergillus section Flavi on stored egusi kernels.Various egusi typesare prone to aflatoxin contamination and were highly contaminated with aflatoxin at levels exceeding the permissible limits and hence, are potential sources of exposure to the harmful effects of aflatoxin when consumed.
Authors and Affiliations
Obani F. T, Atehnkeng J. , Ikotun B, Bandyopadhyay .
Keywords
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- EP ID EP434829
- DOI 10.9790/2380-1201021520.
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