Influence of essential oils on the growth of aspergillus flavus

<p>This paper was focused on the determination of the inhibitory effect of selected essential oils on growth of ten isolates of&nbsp;<em>Aspergillus flavus</em> and their potential ability to produce mycotoxins <em>in vitro</em> by TLC method. The isolates were obtained from moldy bread of domestic origin. We followed the impact of five essential oils at 100% concentration - lemon, eucalyptus, oregano, sage and thyme. The effect of the essential oils we tested the gaseous diffusion method. We isolates grown on CYA (Czapek yeast extract agar), in the dark at 25 &plusmn;1 &deg;C, 14 days. The diameter of colonies grown we continuously measured on the 3^rd, 7^th, 11^th, and 14^th day of cultivation. The results of the paper suggest that oregano and thyme essential oil had 100% inhibited the growth of all tested isolates of <em>Aspergillus flavus</em>. Lemon, eucalyptus and sage essential oil had not significant inhibitory effects on tested isolates <em>Aspergillus flavus</em>, but affected the growth of colonies throughout the cultivation. In&nbsp;addition to the inhibitory effect we witnessed the stimulative effect of lemon, eucalyptus and sage essential oil to some isolates. Together with the antifungal effect of essential oils, we monitored the ability of <em>Aspergillus flavus</em> isolates to produce mycotoxins - aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁) and cyclopiazonic acid (CPA) in the presence of essential oils. Production mycotoxins we have seen in the last (14^th) day of cultivation. Lemon and eucalyptus essential oil did not affect the production of&nbsp;mycotoxins. In the case of sage essential oil we were recorded cyclopiazonic acid production in three of the ten isolates from the all three repetitions, while neither isolate did not produced aflatoxin B₁. The production of secondary metabolites was detected in all control samples. From the results we can say that oregano and thyme essential oil could be used as a natural preservative useful in the food industry.</p>