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Abstract
Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is a highly toxic and carcinogenic metabolite produced by Aspergillus species on food and agricultural commodities. Natural products refer that aromatic components of spices can control the production of aflatoxins. With a view to controlling aflatoxin production, the volatile and nonvolatile extracts from parsley and ginger were obtained by hydrodistillation and ethanol extraction. Antifungal activities of the extracts were studied with special reference to the inhibition of Aspergillus flavus growth and aflatoxin production. Minimal inhibitory (MIC) and minimal fungicidal concentrations of the extracts were determined. Parsley essential oil showed a stronger inhibitory effect than ginger on the growth of A. flavus. On the contrary, ginger ethanolic extract has superior inhibition for aflatoxin production at 20000 ppm (92.93 %). The essential oils of parsley and ginger analyzed by GC-MS) comprised 19.17 % and 8.67 % monoterpenes, 59.74 % and 82.8 % sesquiterpenes, 1.99 % and 3.18 % oxygenated monoterpenes, and 18.98 % and 3.93 % oxygenated sesquiterpenes, respectively and the major volatile compounds in the parsley were myristicin (44%), apiole (16.8%), copaene (13.39%) and β-pinene (6.91%), where as zingibrine (37.65 %), δ-amorphene (19.76%) and α-curcumin (11.32 %) in ginger oil. The antioxidant activity (IC50) of parsley extracts, as compared with that of TBHQ were superior to ginger extracts in DPPH and β-carotene/bleaching assays. It is concluded that both the essential oils could be safely used as preservative materials for some kinds of foods to protect them from toxigenic fungal infections and highlight the potential of this food plants for their possible clinical uses.
