07-08-2013, 12:59 PM
Preliminary studies on the mycobial contamination in dried seed kernels of apricot (Prunus armeniaca)
ABSTRACT
Seed kernels of apricot (Prunus armeniaca) have their medicinal importance in curing various diseases. Due to the unhygienic processing and inadequate storage, these seed kernels get contaminated with various microorganisms including fungi before reaching to the consumers. Keeping in view, the importance of samples of these seed kernels were procured from different markets of Jammu so as to assess the mycoflora associated with them. The isolated fungal taxa included Aspergillus niger, A. flavus, A. sydowii, A. terreus, A. wentii, Alternaria alternata, Cladosporium oxysporum, Curvularia lunata, Dreschlera australiensis, Eurotium amstelodami, Fusarium spp., Mucor spp., Penicillium oxalicum, Rhizopus oryzae. Studies revealed that mycobiota of these seed kernels was dominated by Aspergillus flavus, a potential aflatoxin producer. Further work is being carried out for analysing the aflatoxin contamination in these seed kernels.