Assessment of the Effect of <i>Satureja montana</i> and <i>Origanum virens</i> Essential Oils on <i>Aspergillus flavus</i> Growth and Aflatoxin Production at Different Water Activities
Aflatoxin contamination of foodstuffs poses a serious risk to food security, and it is essential to search for new control methods to prevent these toxins entering the food chain. Several essential oils are able to reduce the growth and mycotoxin biosynthesis of toxigenic species, although their eff...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2020-02-01
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| Series: | Toxins |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/12/3/142 |
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| author | Marta García-Díaz Jessica Gil-Serna Belén Patiño Esther García-Cela Naresh Magan Ángel Medina |
| author_facet | Marta García-Díaz Jessica Gil-Serna Belén Patiño Esther García-Cela Naresh Magan Ángel Medina |
| author_sort | Marta García-Díaz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Aflatoxin contamination of foodstuffs poses a serious risk to food security, and it is essential to search for new control methods to prevent these toxins entering the food chain. Several essential oils are able to reduce the growth and mycotoxin biosynthesis of toxigenic species, although their efficiency is strongly influenced by the environmental conditions. In this work, the effectiveness of <i>Satureja montana</i> and <i>Origanum virens</i> essential oils to control <i>Aspergillus flavus</i> growth was evaluated under three water activity levels (0.94, 0.96 and 0.98 a<sub>w</sub>) using a Bioscreen C, a rapid in vitro spectrophotometric technique. The aflatoxin concentrations at all conditions tested were determined by HPLC-FLD. <i>Aspergillus flavus</i> growth was delayed by both essential oil treatments. However, only <i>S. montana</i> essential oil was able to significantly affect aflatoxin production, although the inhibition percentages widely differed among water activities. The most significant reduction was observed at 0.96 a<sub>w</sub>, which is coincident with the conditions in which <i>A. flavus</i> reached the highest levels of aflatoxin production. On the contrary, the treatment with <i>S. montana</i> essential oil was not effective in significantly reducing aflatoxin production at 0.94 a<sub>w.</sub> Therefore, it is important to study the interaction of the new control compounds with environmental factors before their application in food matrices, and in vitro ecophysiological studies are a good option since they provide accurate and rapid results. |
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| issn | 2072-6651 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T08:00:17Z |
| publishDate | 2020-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Toxins |
| spelling | doaj.art-a0b8ac4eebdf4be89fd10139b962b45c2022-12-22T02:55:17ZengMDPI AGToxins2072-66512020-02-0112314210.3390/toxins12030142toxins12030142Assessment of the Effect of <i>Satureja montana</i> and <i>Origanum virens</i> Essential Oils on <i>Aspergillus flavus</i> Growth and Aflatoxin Production at Different Water ActivitiesMarta García-Díaz0Jessica Gil-Serna1Belén Patiño2Esther García-Cela3Naresh Magan4Ángel Medina5Department of Genetics, Physiology, and Microbiology, Faculty of Biology, University Complutense of Madrid, Jose Antonio Novais 12, 28040 Madrid, SpainDepartment of Genetics, Physiology, and Microbiology, Faculty of Biology, University Complutense of Madrid, Jose Antonio Novais 12, 28040 Madrid, SpainDepartment of Genetics, Physiology, and Microbiology, Faculty of Biology, University Complutense of Madrid, Jose Antonio Novais 12, 28040 Madrid, SpainApplied Mycology Group, Cranfield Soil and AgriFood Institute, Cranfield University, Bedford MK43 0AL, UKApplied Mycology Group, Cranfield Soil and AgriFood Institute, Cranfield University, Bedford MK43 0AL, UKApplied Mycology Group, Cranfield Soil and AgriFood Institute, Cranfield University, Bedford MK43 0AL, UKAflatoxin contamination of foodstuffs poses a serious risk to food security, and it is essential to search for new control methods to prevent these toxins entering the food chain. Several essential oils are able to reduce the growth and mycotoxin biosynthesis of toxigenic species, although their efficiency is strongly influenced by the environmental conditions. In this work, the effectiveness of <i>Satureja montana</i> and <i>Origanum virens</i> essential oils to control <i>Aspergillus flavus</i> growth was evaluated under three water activity levels (0.94, 0.96 and 0.98 a<sub>w</sub>) using a Bioscreen C, a rapid in vitro spectrophotometric technique. The aflatoxin concentrations at all conditions tested were determined by HPLC-FLD. <i>Aspergillus flavus</i> growth was delayed by both essential oil treatments. However, only <i>S. montana</i> essential oil was able to significantly affect aflatoxin production, although the inhibition percentages widely differed among water activities. The most significant reduction was observed at 0.96 a<sub>w</sub>, which is coincident with the conditions in which <i>A. flavus</i> reached the highest levels of aflatoxin production. On the contrary, the treatment with <i>S. montana</i> essential oil was not effective in significantly reducing aflatoxin production at 0.94 a<sub>w.</sub> Therefore, it is important to study the interaction of the new control compounds with environmental factors before their application in food matrices, and in vitro ecophysiological studies are a good option since they provide accurate and rapid results.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/12/3/142aflatoxinbioscreenpreservativesessential oilsfood security |
| spellingShingle | Marta García-Díaz Jessica Gil-Serna Belén Patiño Esther García-Cela Naresh Magan Ángel Medina Assessment of the Effect of <i>Satureja montana</i> and <i>Origanum virens</i> Essential Oils on <i>Aspergillus flavus</i> Growth and Aflatoxin Production at Different Water Activities Toxins aflatoxin bioscreen preservatives essential oils food security |
| title | Assessment of the Effect of <i>Satureja montana</i> and <i>Origanum virens</i> Essential Oils on <i>Aspergillus flavus</i> Growth and Aflatoxin Production at Different Water Activities |
| title_full | Assessment of the Effect of <i>Satureja montana</i> and <i>Origanum virens</i> Essential Oils on <i>Aspergillus flavus</i> Growth and Aflatoxin Production at Different Water Activities |
| title_fullStr | Assessment of the Effect of <i>Satureja montana</i> and <i>Origanum virens</i> Essential Oils on <i>Aspergillus flavus</i> Growth and Aflatoxin Production at Different Water Activities |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessment of the Effect of <i>Satureja montana</i> and <i>Origanum virens</i> Essential Oils on <i>Aspergillus flavus</i> Growth and Aflatoxin Production at Different Water Activities |
| title_short | Assessment of the Effect of <i>Satureja montana</i> and <i>Origanum virens</i> Essential Oils on <i>Aspergillus flavus</i> Growth and Aflatoxin Production at Different Water Activities |
| title_sort | assessment of the effect of i satureja montana i and i origanum virens i essential oils on i aspergillus flavus i growth and aflatoxin production at different water activities |
| topic | aflatoxin bioscreen preservatives essential oils food security |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/12/3/142 |
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