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Aims:  The work was carried out to develop an immunoassay for estimation of Aspergillus ochraceus biomass on solid substrate. Methods and Results:  An indirect noncompetitive enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed for determination of fungal biomass in food commodities using antibody raised against A. ochraceus mycelial antigen. The sensitivity of the assay was linear in the range of 10–160 μg fungal biomass per millilitre extract of coffee (R2 = 0·989), poultry feed (R2 = 0·987) and chilli (R2 = 0·989). The growth of A. ochraceus in the food commodities like chilli, coffee beans and poultry feed, under the influence of two levels of moisture (20% and 30%) were monitored by the ELISA. The maximum fungal colonization was observed in poultry feed (9·8 and 11·8 mg g−1) followed by coffee beans (6·8 and 11·3 mg g−1) and chilli (5·1 and 6·3 mg g−1) at 20% and 30% moisture after 20 days of incubation. Similarly the fungus produced maximum ochratoxin A in poultry feed (25 and 120 μg g−1) followed by coffee beans (8 and 24 μg g−1) and chilli (0·2 and 0·45 μg g−1) at 20% and 30% moisture after 20 days of incubation. Conclusions:  The method can be used for quantitative estimation of fungal biomass and comparison of fungal colonization in food substrates varying in composition. Significance and Impact of the Study:  The method can be adapted for studying the fungal colonization in different solid substrates under different culture condition. The method is sensitive to mould colonization of ≥0·02% (w/w) and can be used for early detection of specific fungal infestation in food commodities.

Free radicals or highly reactive oxygen species are capable of inducing oxidative damage to human body. Antioxidants are the compounds which terminate the attack of reactive species and reduce the risk of diseases; hence natural antioxidants have significant importance in human health. The present study is to evaluate the invitro antioxidant activities of Catunaregam spinosa, Diospyros ferrea, Murraya koenigii, Tarenna asiatica and Zizyphus oenoplia fruit extracts from different solvents such as aqueous, chloroform and ethanol. The wild edible fruits collected from Boda and Kolli hills, eastern ghats, Tamil Nadu, India. The antioxidant activity of these five edible fruits was evaluated by measuring DPPH, RPA, SO, NO, HO, H2O2, FRAP assay. The antioxidant compounds like ascorbic acid were also evaluated. Catunaregam spinosa, Diospyros ferrea, Murraya koenigii, Tarenna asiatica and Zizyphus oenoplia fruits extract exhibited significant differences in their antioxidant values. The ethanolic extract of Tarenna asiatica and Diospyros ferrea exhibited significantly higher antioxidant activity than the other extract of Catunaregam spinosa, Murraya koenigii and Zizyphus oenoplia. It can be concluded that regular use of these edible fruits, help in treating many diseases caused by free radical damage