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Postharvest Pathology and Mycotoxins

Depression of Aflatoxin Production by Flavonoid-Type Compounds from Peanut Shells. A. J. DeLucca II, Southern Regional Research Center, USDA-ARS, New Orleans, LA 70122; M. S. Palmgren(2), and D. J. Daigle(3). (2)Center for Bio-Organic Studies and Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA 70148; (3)Southern Regional Research Center, USDA-ARS, New Orleans, LA 70122. Phytopathology 77:1560-1563. Accepted for publication 10 July 1987. This article is in the public domain and not copyrightable. It may be freely reprinted with customary crediting of the source. The American Phytopathological Society, 1987. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-77-1560.

Peanut shells contain luteolin, eriodictyol, and 5,7-dihydroxychromone. These flavonoid-related compounds, as well as a mixture of them, were tested to determine whether they would affect aflatoxin production. Broth medium (50 ml) was amended with 0.01, 0.02, and 0.06 mg/ml of the individual and mixed compounds, inoculated with 0.1 ml of an Aspergillus parasiticus spore suspension (1 × 10¹⁰ spores/ml), and incubated at 27 C. At 4, 7, 11, and 14 days after inoculation, the mycelium was removed, dried, and weighed. The medium was extracted and tested for aflatoxin. No differences in the mycelial weights were observed among the controls and amended cultures. However, each individual compound, at all concentrations, depressed aflatoxin production as compared with the controls. The mixture of the compounds was the most effective on a percentage basis in reducing aflatoxin amounts.