07-08-2013, 12:57 PM
Mycoflora and aflatoxin contamination in some dried medicinal plant parts.
ABSTRACT
Considering the growing demand of medicinal plants in curative treatments, the present work was carried out to assess the fungal incidence and aflatoxin contamination in dried seeds of Bunium persicum (Boiss.) Fedt. and dried roots of Glycyrrhiza glabra L. both of which are well known for their medicinal properties. Samples of these plant parts were procured from retailers of Jammu province and analyzed for associated mycoflora using standard blotter and surface washing techniques. Overall, ninteen fungal species belonging to eight genera viz. Alternaria, Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Curvularia, Fusarium, Mucor, Penicillium and Rhizopus were isolated from these two commodities. Genus Aspergillus showed the highest species dominance. High incidence of Aspergillus, particularly, Aspergillus flavus prompted us to evaluate these samples for possible aflatoxin contamination using TLC and HPLC. A total of 53 samples of dried plant products including 28 samples of Bunium persicum and 25 samples of Glycyrrhiza glabra were screened for the presence of aflatoxin B1 and B2. Out of these, eight samples each of Bunium persicum and Glycyrrhiza glabra were tested positive for aflatoxin B1 and B2 contamination. The level of contamination ranged from 1.22±1.70μg/g and 0.56±0.35μg/g in Glycyrrhiza glabra and 0.18±0.16μg/g and 4.96±5.19μg/g in Bunium persicum for AFBI and AFB2 respectively which exceed the tolerance limit of 30ppb set by World Health Organisation (WHO). Since aflatoxins have been regarded as group I Human carcinogens, the high incidence of fungi and aflatoxin B1 and B2 in these commodities is a matter of great concern vis-a-vis human health. Hence, periodical monitoring of mould incidence and surveillance of aflatoxin content in these herbal products is imperative.