Identification of Aspergillus spp. and Penicillium spp. Contaminated in Food, Agriculture Products and Cultivated Soil and Aflatoxin B1 Production

Abstract

Forty-seven samples of food, agriculture products and cultivated soil were collected from different locations. The direct isolation, soil plate and dilution plate methods were employed. Identification of the fungi isolates was based on morphological characteristics under stereo and compound microscopes. The results revealed that 76 isolates of Aspergillus spp. including A. flavus, A. fumigatus, A. japonicus, A. niger, A. ochraceus, A. terreus and Aspergillus sp. and 8 isolates of Penicillium spp. including P. oxalicum, P. verrucosum, Penicillium sp.1 and Penicillium sp.2 were found. Sclerotia formation with different characteristics were observed in A. flavus (KUFC10266, 10269, 10277 and 10284) and A. ochraceus (KUFC10327). Aflatoxin B1 productions were detected using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The results showed that 9 isolates of Aspergillus spp. and 4 isolates of Penicillium spp. produced aflatoxin B1 less than 4 ppb whereas, 6 isolates of A. flavus (KUFC10266, 10268, 10272, 10277, 10280 and 10284) produced aflatoxin B1 greater than 40 ppb. However, there was no association between sclerotia production and aflatoxin B1 production.