Research Article
Assessment of Antifungal, Antiafl atoxigenic and Antioxidant Effi cacy of Ocimum Canum Sims Essential Oil and E-Citral as Phytopreservative against Aspergillus Flavus, a Toxigenic Food Spoiling Mould
Kumar A1* and Dubey NK2
1Department of Botany, Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar Government Degree College, India
2Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, India
*Corresponding author: Kumar A, Department of Botany, Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar Government Degree College, Maharajganj-273303, Uttar Pradesh, India, Mobile: +91-8400945878; E-mail: ashokkumarbhu@gmail.com
Copyright: © Kumar A, et al. 2020. Th is is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Article Information: Submission: 15/09/2020; Accepted: 19/10/2020; Published: 22/10/2020
Abstract
In the present study, stored wheat grains were found associated with spores of various storage moulds in which Aspergillus flavus exhibited the maximum relative density (33.48%). The chemical profi le of Ocimum Canum Essential oil (OcEO) showed 31 considerable peaks. E-citral (41.84%) was found as major component followed by Z-Citral (20.46%) and β-pinene (7.40%). OcEO and E-citral both exhibited broad spectrum fungitoxicity and their MIC against A. flavus LHPTA-07 was recorded at 0.6 and 0.4 mg/ml respectively while afl atoxin B1 production was completely checked at 0.4 and 0.3 mg/ml respectively. The gradual reduction in ergosterol content with increasing OcEO and E-citral concentration indicates plasma membrane as the possible target site of antifungal action. OcEO and E-citral also exhibited signifi cant antioxidant potential with IC50 value (16.72 and 15.44 μg/ml respectively) comparable to synthetic antioxidants (ascorbic acid, IC50 9.76 μg/ml) would be helpful to minimize lipid peroxidation. Fumigation of OcEO and E-citral signifi cantly reduced the population of A. flavus from wheat grains without adversely aff ecting seed germinability. Hence, OcEO and E-citral exhibited special virtues possessing antifungal, antiafl atoxigenic and antioxidant activity as well as no adverse eff ects on seed viability strengthening their safe exploitation as green preservative to enhance the shelf life of stored food commodities and other edible products.