Efficacy of Mentha spicata essential oil in suppression of Aspergillus flavus and aflatoxin contamination in chickpea with particular emphasis to mode of antifungal action

Abstract

The present study reports in vivo antifungal and antiaflatoxigenic efficacy of Mentha spicata essential oil (EO) against toxigenic Aspergillus flavus strain LHP(C)-D6 in chickpea food system up to 12 months of storage. In addition, the mode of antifungal action of EO was also determined to understand the mechanism of fungal growth inhibition. The in vivo study with different concentrations of M. spicata EO showed dose-dependent decrease in fungal colony count as well as aflatoxin B1 concentration. The EO caused >50% protection in inoculated sets and >70% protection in uninoculated sets of chickpea food system against A. flavus at 1.0 μL mL(-1) air concentration. However, at the same concentration, EO caused 100% inhibition to aflatoxin B1 production in both sets when analyzed through high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The antifungal target of EO in fumigated cells of A. flavus was found to be the plasma membrane when analyzed through electron microscopic observations and ions leakage test. The EO fumigated chickpea seeds showed 100% seed germination and seedling growth after 12 months of storage. Based on these observations, M. spicata EO can be recommended as plant-based preservative for safe protection of food commodities during storage conditions against fungal and most importantly mycotoxin contaminations.

Essential Oils as Potential Alternative Biocontrol Products against Plant Pathogens and Weeds: A Review

“…Eucalyptus sp., Ferula galbaniflua, Thymus capitatus and Syzygium aromaticum [71] Curcuma longa [72] Angelica glauca, Plectranthus rugosus, Valeriana wallichii [73] Mentha spicata [74] Michelia alba [75] Ocimum basilicum and Vetiveria zizanioides [76] Artemisia nilagirica [77] Aspergillus fumigatus Rot and mould, aflatoxins production, aspergillosis…”

A Novel Niosome-Encapsulated Essential Oil Formulation to Prevent Aspergillus flavus Growth and Aflatoxin Contamination of Maize Grains During Storage

“…Da Silva et al [15] reported that Rosmarinus officinalis EO has a strong effect against Fusarium verticillioides, as it showed the ability to rupture the cell wall and inhibit the production of fumonisins. Aspergillus flavus growth and its ability to produce AFs were also significantly affected by treatment with Origanum virens and Ageratum conyzoides EOs in corn and soybeans [16], and using Mentha spicata EO in chickpeas [17].…”

Aflatoxins: biosynthesis, prevention and eradication

“…Many of EOs exhibit antifungal, antibacterial, and antiviral activity (Astani et al, 2010;Khaledi et al, 2015). Several studies investigated the antifungal activity of various EOs against A. flavus (Pekmezovic et al, 2015;Dehghanpour-Farashah and Taheri, 2016;Kedia et al, 2016;Shen et al, 2016;Al-Shahrani et al, 2017). Piperine, a major component of black and long peppers, has been previously demonstrated as an AFB 1 biosynthesis inhibitor.…”