Aflatoxigenic fungi and aflatoxin in cocoa

Autor(es)

Copetti, Marina V. ^[1] ; Iarnanaka, Beatriz T. ^[2] ; Pereira, Jose Luis ^[3] ; Fungaro, Maria H. ^[4] ; Taniwaki, Marta H. ^[2]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Fed Santa Maria, Dept Tecnol & Ciencia Alimentos, BR-97105900 Santa Maria, RS - Brazil

^[2] Inst Tecnol Alimentos ITAL, BR-13070178 Campinas, SP - Brazil

^[3] Univ Estadual Campinas UNICAMP, Dept Ciencia Alimentos, BR-13083862 Campinas, SP - Brazil

^[4] Univ Estadual Londrina, Ctr Ciencias Biol, BR-86051990 Londrina, PR - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: International Journal of Food Microbiology; v. 148, n. 2, p. 141-144, AUG 2 2011.
• Citações Web of Science: 32

Resumo

This paper reports the occurrence of aflatoxigenic fungi and the presence of aflatoxins in 226 cocoa samples collected on Brazilian farms. The samples were taken at various stages of fermentation, drying and storage. A total of 819 potentially aflatoxigenic fungi were isolated using Dichloran 18% Glycerol agar after surface disinfection, and identified by standard techniques. The ability of the fungi to produce aflatoxins was determined using the agar plug technique and TLC. The presence of aflatoxins in cocoa samples was determined by HPLC using post-column derivatization with bromide after immunoaffinity column clean up. The aflatoxigenic fungi isolated were Aspergillus flavus, A. parasiticus and A. nomius. A considerable increase in numbers of these species was observed during drying and storage. In spite of the high prevalence of aflatoxigenic fungi, only low levels of aflatoxin were found in the cocoa samples, suggesting the existence of limiting factors to the accumulation of aflatoxins in the beans. (C) 2011 Elsevier By. All rights reserved. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 05/60236-1 - Micobiota do cacau: fungos e micotoxinas do cacaueiro ate o chocolate.
• Beneficiário: Marta Hiromi Taniwaki
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Regular