Aflatoxin and Citrinin in Seeds of Some Medicinal Plants under Storage

Abstract

Commercial seed samples of Hydnocarpus laurifolia, Blepharis edulis, Piper betle, Acacia concinna, Caesalpinea digyna and Cassia fistula were examined for mycoflora and mycotoxin contamination. Aspergillus and Penicillium species were the dominant flora. Sixty samples were screened for mycotoxin contamination and 36 were positive for aflatoxin B₁ (0.02 to 1.18 μg/g) and 11 were positive for citrinin (0.01 to 0.76 μg/g). Strains of A. flavus and P. citrinum isolated from the samples were tested for aflatoxin and citrinin production. About 50% of the A. flavus and 20% of the P. citrinum isolates, irrespective of the samples, were found to produce aflatoxin-B₁ (0.02 to 2.66 μg/ml of culture filtrate) and citrinin (0.01-079 μg/ml of culture filtrate), respectively.