Antiaflatoxigenic property of food grade antioxidants under different conditions of water activity in peanut grains

Analytical grade (AG) and industrial grade (IG) of three-food grade antioxidants butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and propyl paraben (PP) were analyzed to prove their fungitoxic effect on Aspergillus section Flavi strains. The effect of interactions among 10 antioxidant treatments at water activity levels (0.982, 0.955, 0.937 aW) for 11 and 35 days of incubation and at 25 °C in peanut grains on mycelial growth (CFU g−1) and aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) accumulation were evaluated. Both antioxidant grade treatments had a significant effect (P < 0.001) on fungal count. All antioxidant treatments showed the highest effectiveness on control of growth of peanut aflatoxigenic strains at 0.937 aW and at 11 days of incubation. Overall, AG and IG binary mixtures M3 (20 + 10 mM), M4 (20 + 20 mM) and ternary mixtures M5 (10 + 10 +10 mM), M6 (10 + 20 + 10 mM), M7 (20 + 10 + 10 mM) and M8 (20 + 20 + 10 mM) were the treatments most effective at inhibiting growth of Aspergillus section Flavi strains. Industrial grade BHA 10 and 20 mM, binary mixtures M1 (10 + 10 mM), M2 (10 + 20 mM), M3 (20 + 10 mM), M4 (20 + 20 mM) and ternary mixtures M5 (10 + 10 + 10 mM), M6 (10 + 20 + 10 mM), M7 (20 + 10 + 10 mM) and M8 (20 + 20 + 10 mM) completely inhibited AFB1 production. The studied results suggest that IG antioxidant mixtures have potential for controlling growth of these mycotoxigenic species and prevent aflatoxin accumulation at the peanut storage system.