Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
8888048 Food Control 2018 10 Pages PDF
Abstract
Aflatoxins are naturally occurring carcinogens. Humans and animals, such as turkeys, are highly susceptible to aflatoxin-induced diseases. In this study, we investigated the inhibitory effects of 5 food additives on the growth and aflatoxin production in Aspergillus flavus ATCC 22546. Propionic acid completely inhibited fungal growth at a concentration of 0.5%. Furthermore, no fungal growth was observed when the growth medium was treated with 0.05% benzoic acid, 0.1% sorbic acid, 0.5% acetic acid, or 0.5% butyric acid. In comparison to propionic acid, other food additives showed weak antifungal activities. Propionic acid, butyric acid, benzoic acid, and sorbic acid also exhibited potent antiaflatoxigenic activities at a concentration of 0.1%. However, addition of 0.1% acetic acid did not inhibit aflatoxin production. At a concentration of 0.05%, propionic acid lost its antiaflatoxigenic activity, whereas at the same concentration, benzoic acid, butyric acid, and sorbic acid showed potent antiaflatoxigenic activities with a 95% inhibition of aflatoxin production. Benzoic acid drastically inhibited the expression of genes related to aflatoxin biosynthesis, whereas sorbic acid only inhibited the expression of a transcription gene, yab. Collectively, our results suggest that benzoic acid is promising alternative to propionic acid as food preservatives.
Related Topics
Life Sciences Agricultural and Biological Sciences Food Science
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