Main Article Content
Abstract
The aim of the present work was to assess the mycoflora and evaluate the aflatoxin contamination in apricot kernels from Jammu and Kashmir. A total of 83 samples collected from different regions of Jammu province were analysed for the mycoflora by different isolation techniques. Twenty nine fungal species belonging to 16 genera were recorded from these samples during mycoflora analysis. Species of Aspergillus were found to be the most frequent colonizers followed by the Penicillium among all the recorded moulds. In view of the predominance of Aspergillus flavus, a known producer of aflatoxins, screening of 83 contaminated samples was carried out for total aflatoxin levels using thin layer chromatography (TLC) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Out of these, 20 samples detected positive for aflatoxin B1 and B2 and the level of contamination ranged from 72.43-216.88µg/g and 0.11-235.32µg/g respectively which exceeds the tolerance limit of 20µg/g set by World Health Organization. The present study constitutes the first report on the incidence of mycoflora and aflatoxin contamination in dried apricot kernels from the markets of Jammu and Kashmir.
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References
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- Anonymous, Wealth of India. 1969. A dictionary of Indian raw materials. CSIR, India. pp. 256-261.
- AOAC Association of Official Analytical Chemists. 1984. Official methods of analysis, 14th Edn. Arlington, VA, USA.
- Bircan, C., Barringe, S. A., Ulken, U. and Pehlivan, R. 2008. Aflatoxin levels in dried figs, nuts and paprika for export from Turkey. International Journal of Food Science and Technology.43:1492-1498.
- Butt, M. S., Nasir, M., Akhtar, S. and Sharif, K. 2004. Effect of moisture and packaging on the shelf life of wheat flour. International Journal of Food Safety. 4: 1-6.
- Dixit, A. K., Sharma, P. C., Nanda, S. K. and Kudos, S. K. A. 2010. Impact of processing technology in hilly region: A study on extraction of apricot kernel oil. Agricultural Economics Research Review. 23: 405-410.
- Duke, J. A. and Ayensu, E. S. 1985. Medicinal Plants of China, 3rd Edn. References Publication Inc, China.
- Dwivedi, S. K., Kareem, A. and Ahmed, Z. 2007. Apricot in Ladakh. Field Research Laboratory (DRDO) Leh Ladakh.
- EC European Commission. 2010. Commission regulation N. 165/2010 amending Regulation (EC) N. 1881/2006. 2010. Setting maximum levels for certain contaminants in foodstuffs as regards aflatoxins. Official Journal of Eurpean Union. 53: 8-12.
- Freire, F. C. O., Kozakiewicz, Z. and Paterson, R. R. M. 1999. Mycoflora and Mycotoxins of Brazilian cashew kernels. Mycopathologia.145: 95-103.
- Frisvad, J. C. and Samson, R. A. 2004. Emericella venezuelensis, a new species with stellate ascospores producing sterigmatocystin and aflatoxin B1. Systemic Applied Microbiology. 27: 672-80.
- Goncalez, E., Nogueria, J. H. C., Fonseca, H., Felicio, J. D., Pino, F. A. and Correa, B. 2008. Mycobiota and mycotoxins in Brazilian peanut kernels from sowing to harvest. International Journal of Microbiology. 123: 184-190.
- Gordan, A. G., Gosling, P. and Wang, B. S. P. 1991. Tree and shrub seed handbook. Zurich, International Seed Testing Association (ISTA). pp. 190.
- Gupta, D., Sharma, S. and Sharma, Y. P. 2013. Mycoflora and aflatoxin contamination in some traditional medicinal plants from Jammu, India. Journal of Mycology and Plant Pathology.43: 360-368.
- Hedayati, M. T., Kaboli, S. and Mayahi, S. 2010. Mycoflora of pistachio and peanut kernels from Sari, Iran. Jundishadpur. Journal of Microbiology. 3: 114-120.
- Hedayati, M. T., Pasqualotto, A. C., Warn, P. A., Bowyer, P. and Denning, D. W. 2007. Aspergillus flavus: human pathogen, allergen and mycotoxin producer. Microbiology. 153: 1677-1692.
- IARC International Agency for Research on Cancer. 1993. Monographs on the evaluation of carcinogenic risks to humans. 56: 257-263.
- Ibrahim, M. I. M., Ali, H. S., Sahab, A. F. and Al-Khafia, A. R. S. 2013. Co-occurrence of fungi, aflatoxins, ochratoxin A and fumonisins in date palm fruits of Saudi Arabia. Journal of Applied Science and Research. 9: 1449-1456.
- Imperato, R., Campone, L., Piccinelli, A. L., Veneziano, A. and Rastrelli, L. 2011. Survey of aflatoxins and ochratoxin A contamination in food products imported in Italy. Food Control. 22: 1905-1910.
- Johnson, L .F. and Curl, E. A. 1972. Methods for Research on Ecology of Soil borne pathogens. Burgess Publishing Company, Minneapotis, MN, USA.
- Khosravi, A. R., Shokri, H. and Ziglari, T. 2007. Evaluation of fungal flora in some important nut products (pistachio, peanuts, hazelnut and almond) in Tehran, Iran. Pakistan Journal of Nutrition. 6: 460-462.
- Kishore, G. K., Pande, S., Manjula, K., Rao, J. N. and Thomas, D. 2002. Occurrence of mycotoxins and toxigenic fungi in groundnut (Arachis hypogea L.) seeds in Andhra Pradesh. Plant Pathology Journal . 18: 204-209.
- Kosoko, S. B., Sanni, L. O., Adebowale, A. A., Daramola, A. O. and Oyelakin, M. O. 2009. Effect of period of steaming and drying temperature on chemical properties of cashew nut. African Journal of Food and Science. 3: 156-164.
- Luttfullah, G. and Hussain, A. 2011. Studies on contamination level of aflatoxins in some dried fruits and nuts of Pakistan. Food Control. 22: 426-429.
- Mittal, R.K. and Mathur, S.B. 2003. Tropical tree seed manual. http://www.rngr.net/Reforestation/Publications/TTSM.
- Pixton, S. 1967. Moisture content - its significance and measurement in stored products. Journal of Stored Products Research. 3: 35-47.
- Rank, C., Nielsen, K. F., Larsen, T. O., Varga. J., Samson, R. A. and Frisvad, J. C. 2011. Distribution of sterigmatocystin in filamentous fungi. Fungal Biology.115: 406-420.
- Rasheed, S., Dawar, S., Ghaffar, A. and Shankat, S. S. 2004. Seed borne mycoflora of groundnut. Pakistan Journal of Botany. 36: 199-202.
- Risk Assessment Studies. 2001. Report No. 5. An Evaluation of aflatoxin survelliance. Findings in Hong-Kong 1998-2000. Chemical hazards evaluation; aflatoxins in foods, food and environmental hygeine department, HKSAR http:// www.cfsgov. hk/ English/ programme rafs/ programme-rafs-fc-01-16-repo rt.hml.
- Rodrigues, P., Venancio, A. and Lima, N. 2012. Mycobiota and mycotoxins of almonds and chestnuts with special
- reference to aflatoxins. Food Research International . 48: 76-90.
- Sekar, P., Yumnam ,N. and Ponmurugan, K. 2008. Screeening and characterization of mycotoxin producing fungi from dried fruits and grains. Advanced Biotechnology. pp. 12-15.
- Sharma, Y. P. and Sumbali, G. 1999. Incidence of aflatoxin producing strains and aflatoxin contamination in dry fruits slices of quinces (Cydonia oblonga Mill.). Mycopathologia. 148: 103-107.
- Sharma, S., Gupta, D. and Sharma, Y. P. 2014. Natural incidence of aflatoxins, ochratoxin A, patulin and their cooccurrence in chilgoza pine nuts marketed in Jammu, India. Proceedings of National Academic Sciences Sect. B Biological Sciences. DOI 10.1007/s40011-014-0326-7.
- Sigma-Aldrich. 2000. Supelco, chromatography products for analysis and purification.
- Singh, P. K. 2012. Assessment of mycotoxins in edible tree borne oil seeds (TBOS). Journal of Food Research. 1: 91-101.
- Singh, P. K. and Shukla, A. N. 2008. Survey of mycoflora counts, aflatoxin production and induced biochemical changes in walnut kernels. Journal of Stored Products Research. 44: 169-172.
- Soares, C., Rodrigues, P., Peterson, S. W., Lima, N. and Venancio, A. 2012. Three new species of Aspergillus section Flavi isolated from almonds and maize in Portugal. Mycologia, doi: 10.3852/11-088
- Stack, M. E. and Pohland, A. E. 1975. Collaborative study of a method for chemical conformation of the identity of aflatoxin. Journal Association of Official Analytical Chemists. 58: 110-113.
- Targais, K., Stobdan, T., Yadav, A. and Singh, S. B. 2011. Extraction of apricot kernel oil in cold desert of Ladakh. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge. 10: 304-306.
- Thomas, F., Eppley, R. M. and Trucksess, M. W. 1975. Rapid screening method for aflatoxins and zearalenone in corn. Journal Association of Official Analytical Chemists. 58: 114-116.
- Varga, J., Frisvad ,J. C. and Samson, R. A. 2011. Two new aflatoxin species and an overview of Aspergillus section Flavi. Studies in Mycology. 69: 57-80.
- Weidonborner, M. 2001. The mycobiota and potential mycotoxins in peanuts. Canadian Journal of Microbiology. 47: 460-463.
- WHO, World Health Organisation. 1979. Environmental health criteria II. Mycotoxin World Health Organisation, Geneva.
- Williams, J. H., Phillips, T. D., Jolly, P. E., Stiles, J. K., Jolly, C. M. and Aggarwal, D. 2004. Human aflatoxicosis in developing countries: a review of toxicology, exposure, potential health consequences, and interventions. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 80: 1106-1122.
- Zain, M. E. 2011. Impact of mycotoxins on humans and animals. Journal of Saudi Chemical Society.15: 129-144.
- Zohri, A. A. and Abdel-Gawad, K. M. 1993. Mycoflora and mycotoxins of some dried fruits in Egypt. Journal of Basic Microbiology. 33: 279-288.
References
Abdel-Hafez, A. L. and Saber, S. M. 1993. Mycoflora and mycotoxin of hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) and walnut (Juglans regia L.) seeds in Egypt. Zentrabl Mikrobiology. 148: 137-147.
Anonymous, Wealth of India. 1969. A dictionary of Indian raw materials. CSIR, India. pp. 256-261.
AOAC Association of Official Analytical Chemists. 1984. Official methods of analysis, 14th Edn. Arlington, VA, USA.
Bircan, C., Barringe, S. A., Ulken, U. and Pehlivan, R. 2008. Aflatoxin levels in dried figs, nuts and paprika for export from Turkey. International Journal of Food Science and Technology.43:1492-1498.
Butt, M. S., Nasir, M., Akhtar, S. and Sharif, K. 2004. Effect of moisture and packaging on the shelf life of wheat flour. International Journal of Food Safety. 4: 1-6.
Dixit, A. K., Sharma, P. C., Nanda, S. K. and Kudos, S. K. A. 2010. Impact of processing technology in hilly region: A study on extraction of apricot kernel oil. Agricultural Economics Research Review. 23: 405-410.
Duke, J. A. and Ayensu, E. S. 1985. Medicinal Plants of China, 3rd Edn. References Publication Inc, China.
Dwivedi, S. K., Kareem, A. and Ahmed, Z. 2007. Apricot in Ladakh. Field Research Laboratory (DRDO) Leh Ladakh.
EC European Commission. 2010. Commission regulation N. 165/2010 amending Regulation (EC) N. 1881/2006. 2010. Setting maximum levels for certain contaminants in foodstuffs as regards aflatoxins. Official Journal of Eurpean Union. 53: 8-12.
Freire, F. C. O., Kozakiewicz, Z. and Paterson, R. R. M. 1999. Mycoflora and Mycotoxins of Brazilian cashew kernels. Mycopathologia.145: 95-103.
Frisvad, J. C. and Samson, R. A. 2004. Emericella venezuelensis, a new species with stellate ascospores producing sterigmatocystin and aflatoxin B1. Systemic Applied Microbiology. 27: 672-80.
Goncalez, E., Nogueria, J. H. C., Fonseca, H., Felicio, J. D., Pino, F. A. and Correa, B. 2008. Mycobiota and mycotoxins in Brazilian peanut kernels from sowing to harvest. International Journal of Microbiology. 123: 184-190.
Gordan, A. G., Gosling, P. and Wang, B. S. P. 1991. Tree and shrub seed handbook. Zurich, International Seed Testing Association (ISTA). pp. 190.
Gupta, D., Sharma, S. and Sharma, Y. P. 2013. Mycoflora and aflatoxin contamination in some traditional medicinal plants from Jammu, India. Journal of Mycology and Plant Pathology.43: 360-368.
Hedayati, M. T., Kaboli, S. and Mayahi, S. 2010. Mycoflora of pistachio and peanut kernels from Sari, Iran. Jundishadpur. Journal of Microbiology. 3: 114-120.
Hedayati, M. T., Pasqualotto, A. C., Warn, P. A., Bowyer, P. and Denning, D. W. 2007. Aspergillus flavus: human pathogen, allergen and mycotoxin producer. Microbiology. 153: 1677-1692.
IARC International Agency for Research on Cancer. 1993. Monographs on the evaluation of carcinogenic risks to humans. 56: 257-263.
Ibrahim, M. I. M., Ali, H. S., Sahab, A. F. and Al-Khafia, A. R. S. 2013. Co-occurrence of fungi, aflatoxins, ochratoxin A and fumonisins in date palm fruits of Saudi Arabia. Journal of Applied Science and Research. 9: 1449-1456.
Imperato, R., Campone, L., Piccinelli, A. L., Veneziano, A. and Rastrelli, L. 2011. Survey of aflatoxins and ochratoxin A contamination in food products imported in Italy. Food Control. 22: 1905-1910.
Johnson, L .F. and Curl, E. A. 1972. Methods for Research on Ecology of Soil borne pathogens. Burgess Publishing Company, Minneapotis, MN, USA.
Khosravi, A. R., Shokri, H. and Ziglari, T. 2007. Evaluation of fungal flora in some important nut products (pistachio, peanuts, hazelnut and almond) in Tehran, Iran. Pakistan Journal of Nutrition. 6: 460-462.
Kishore, G. K., Pande, S., Manjula, K., Rao, J. N. and Thomas, D. 2002. Occurrence of mycotoxins and toxigenic fungi in groundnut (Arachis hypogea L.) seeds in Andhra Pradesh. Plant Pathology Journal . 18: 204-209.
Kosoko, S. B., Sanni, L. O., Adebowale, A. A., Daramola, A. O. and Oyelakin, M. O. 2009. Effect of period of steaming and drying temperature on chemical properties of cashew nut. African Journal of Food and Science. 3: 156-164.
Luttfullah, G. and Hussain, A. 2011. Studies on contamination level of aflatoxins in some dried fruits and nuts of Pakistan. Food Control. 22: 426-429.
Mittal, R.K. and Mathur, S.B. 2003. Tropical tree seed manual. http://www.rngr.net/Reforestation/Publications/TTSM.
Pixton, S. 1967. Moisture content - its significance and measurement in stored products. Journal of Stored Products Research. 3: 35-47.
Rank, C., Nielsen, K. F., Larsen, T. O., Varga. J., Samson, R. A. and Frisvad, J. C. 2011. Distribution of sterigmatocystin in filamentous fungi. Fungal Biology.115: 406-420.
Rasheed, S., Dawar, S., Ghaffar, A. and Shankat, S. S. 2004. Seed borne mycoflora of groundnut. Pakistan Journal of Botany. 36: 199-202.
Risk Assessment Studies. 2001. Report No. 5. An Evaluation of aflatoxin survelliance. Findings in Hong-Kong 1998-2000. Chemical hazards evaluation; aflatoxins in foods, food and environmental hygeine department, HKSAR http:// www.cfsgov. hk/ English/ programme rafs/ programme-rafs-fc-01-16-repo rt.hml.
Rodrigues, P., Venancio, A. and Lima, N. 2012. Mycobiota and mycotoxins of almonds and chestnuts with special
reference to aflatoxins. Food Research International . 48: 76-90.
Sekar, P., Yumnam ,N. and Ponmurugan, K. 2008. Screeening and characterization of mycotoxin producing fungi from dried fruits and grains. Advanced Biotechnology. pp. 12-15.
Sharma, Y. P. and Sumbali, G. 1999. Incidence of aflatoxin producing strains and aflatoxin contamination in dry fruits slices of quinces (Cydonia oblonga Mill.). Mycopathologia. 148: 103-107.
Sharma, S., Gupta, D. and Sharma, Y. P. 2014. Natural incidence of aflatoxins, ochratoxin A, patulin and their cooccurrence in chilgoza pine nuts marketed in Jammu, India. Proceedings of National Academic Sciences Sect. B Biological Sciences. DOI 10.1007/s40011-014-0326-7.
Sigma-Aldrich. 2000. Supelco, chromatography products for analysis and purification.
Singh, P. K. 2012. Assessment of mycotoxins in edible tree borne oil seeds (TBOS). Journal of Food Research. 1: 91-101.
Singh, P. K. and Shukla, A. N. 2008. Survey of mycoflora counts, aflatoxin production and induced biochemical changes in walnut kernels. Journal of Stored Products Research. 44: 169-172.
Soares, C., Rodrigues, P., Peterson, S. W., Lima, N. and Venancio, A. 2012. Three new species of Aspergillus section Flavi isolated from almonds and maize in Portugal. Mycologia, doi: 10.3852/11-088
Stack, M. E. and Pohland, A. E. 1975. Collaborative study of a method for chemical conformation of the identity of aflatoxin. Journal Association of Official Analytical Chemists. 58: 110-113.
Targais, K., Stobdan, T., Yadav, A. and Singh, S. B. 2011. Extraction of apricot kernel oil in cold desert of Ladakh. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge. 10: 304-306.
Thomas, F., Eppley, R. M. and Trucksess, M. W. 1975. Rapid screening method for aflatoxins and zearalenone in corn. Journal Association of Official Analytical Chemists. 58: 114-116.
Varga, J., Frisvad ,J. C. and Samson, R. A. 2011. Two new aflatoxin species and an overview of Aspergillus section Flavi. Studies in Mycology. 69: 57-80.
Weidonborner, M. 2001. The mycobiota and potential mycotoxins in peanuts. Canadian Journal of Microbiology. 47: 460-463.
WHO, World Health Organisation. 1979. Environmental health criteria II. Mycotoxin World Health Organisation, Geneva.
Williams, J. H., Phillips, T. D., Jolly, P. E., Stiles, J. K., Jolly, C. M. and Aggarwal, D. 2004. Human aflatoxicosis in developing countries: a review of toxicology, exposure, potential health consequences, and interventions. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 80: 1106-1122.
Zain, M. E. 2011. Impact of mycotoxins on humans and animals. Journal of Saudi Chemical Society.15: 129-144.
Zohri, A. A. and Abdel-Gawad, K. M. 1993. Mycoflora and mycotoxins of some dried fruits in Egypt. Journal of Basic Microbiology. 33: 279-288.