FUNGAL CONTAMINANTS ASSOCIATED WITH SOME FOOD STUFF IN OWERRI, SOUTHEAST, NIGERIA

  • UN Uchegbu Dr
  • N Uche-Uchegbu
  • JS Ogboi
  • CK Ndukwe
Keywords: food stuffs (cereals and legumes), fungal contaminants, Owerri, Nigeria

Abstract

This study aimed at isolating and identifying fungal contaminants of some selected food items (rice, maize, beans, groundnut, and peanut) in Owerri, Imo State Nigeria. An oral ethical approval was obtained from the Market Master before sample collection. Different fungal contaminants were isolated from all the selected raw and boiled food items that were directly seeded unto Sabouraud Dextrose Agar (SDA) supplemented with chloramphenicol, incubated at room temperature for 7 days, and were checked for growth daily. From the results obtained, a total of six (6) fungi were isolated and identified from all the samples cultured. The total of each mycotoxin-producing fungi isolated is Aspergillus spp. 8 (29.6%), Penicillium spp. 5 (18.5%), Mucor spp. 5 (18.5%), Rhizopus spp. 5 (18.5%), Geotrichum spp. 3 (11.1%) and Botrytis spp.1 (3.7%). Out of all the fungal isolates, a frequency of 3.3 (55.6%) was identified from the raw food samples and 2.7 (44.4%) from the boiled samples. The slight dissimilarity seen between the raw and boiled food fungal isolates is a result of the denaturation of the nutrient value of the grains during boiling and the ability of the fungal spores (that are thermoduric and heat-stable) to form a biofilm that can resist deactivation.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

UN Uchegbu, Dr

Department of Medical Laboratory Services, Federal MedicalCentre, Owerri, Nigeria

N Uche-Uchegbu

Department of Internal Medicine, FMC Owerri

JS Ogboi

FHST, University of Nigeria Enugu Campus.

CK Ndukwe

Research assistant.

References

Adejumo, T. O. and Adejoro, D. O. (2014). Incidence of aflatoxins, fumonisins, trichothecenes and ochratoxins in Nigerian foods and possible intervention strategies. Food Science and Quality management, (31), 127-146.
Altug, T. (2003). Introduction to Toxicology and Food. CRC press. New York, Washington, p. 150.
Amadi, J. E. and Adeniyi, D. O. (2009). Mycotoxin production by fungi isolated from stored grains. African Journal of Biotechnology, 8(7), 1219–1221.
Bankole, S. A., Mabekoje, O. O., and Enikuomehin, O. A. (2003). Fusarium spp. and fumonisin B1 in stored maize from Ogun State, Nigeria. Tropical Science, 43(2), 76–79.
Bayman, P., Baker, J. L., Doster, M. A., Michailides, T. T. and Mahoney, N. E. (2002). Ochratoxin production by Aspergillus ochraceus group and Aspergillus alliaceus. Applied and environmental microbiology, (68), 2326-2329.
Beneke, E. S. and Rogers, A. V., (1996). Common contaminant fungi. Medical Mycology and Human Mycoses.Korea. Star Publishing Company, pp. 1-24.
Bhat, R. V., and Vasanthi, B. (2002). Food Safety in Food Security and Food Trade. Mycotoxin Food Safety Risk in Developing countries IFPRI. Brief 3.
Dongo, L. N., Manjula, K. and Orisajo, S. B. (2007). Occurrence of ochratoxin-A in Nigerian kola nuts in Proceedings of the African Crop Science Conference.African Crop Science Society,8, 2133–2135.
Fink-Gremmels, J. (1998). Mycotoxins: Mechanism of action at the molecular level. In: Miraglia, M., van Egmond, H., Brera, C., Gilbert, J., (editors). Mycotoxins and Phycotoxins-Developments in Chemistry, Toxicology and Food Safety, pp. 247-262.
International Agency for Research on Cancer (2002). IARC Monographs:Summary for on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks of Some Traditional Herbal Medicine, Some Mycotoxins, Non-Heterocyclic Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Some Related Exposures to Humans. International Agency for Research on Cancer, 92. Lyon, France, IARC.
Jonathan, S. G., Abdul-Lateef, M. B.and Ayansina, A. D. V. (2013). Fungal and aflatoxin detection in fresh and stored ‘garri ijebu’ (locally processed food) from Manihot esculenta. Report and Opinion, 5(2), 213–219.
Jonathan, S. G., Abdul-Lateef, M. B., Olawuyi, O. J. and Oyelakin, A. O. (2012). Studies on bio-deterioration, aflatoxin contamination and food values of fermented, dried and stored Ipomoea batatas chips. Nature and Science, 10(11), 123–128.
Jonathan, S. G., Ajayi, I. and Omitade, Y. (2011). Nutritional compositions, fungi and aflatoxins detection in stored ‘gbodo’ fermented (Dioscorea rotundata) and ‘elubo ogede’ fermented (Musa parasidiaca) from south western Nigeria. African Journal of Food Science, 5(2), 105–110.
Kuilman, M. E. M., Sabater, V. M., Peters, W. H. M., and Fink-Gremmels, J. (1999). Aflatoxin-B1 mutagenicity is reduced in the presence of CPA in the Ames test using human and rat microsomes for metabolic activation. In: Kuilman, M. E. M. (editor). Thesis Utrecht University; Chapter 6.
Kumar, V., Basu, M. S., and Rajendran,T. P. (2008). Mycotoxin research and mycoflora in some commercially important agricultural commodities. Crop Protection, 27(6), 891–905.
Makun, H. A., Anjorin, S. T., and Moronfoye, B. (2010). Fungal and aflatoxin contamination of some human food commodities in Nigeria. African Journal of Food Science, 4, 127–135.
Nakai, V. K. and Roda, L. O. (2008). Distribution of fungi and aflatoxins in stored peanut variety. Food Chemistry,106, 285-290.
National Population Census, (2015). Owerri, Imo State. Retrieved: 4 July, 2018. From;https:/www.citypopulation.de/php/nigeriaadmin.phpadm2id=NGA017026.
Nwaiwu,M. Y., and Imo, E. O. (1999). Control of food-borne fungi by essential oils from local spices in Nigeria.Acta Phytopathologica et Entomologica HungaricaScientifica, 34(1-2), 91–97.
Ochei, J. O. and Kolhatkar, A. A. (2007). Identification of Fungal Isolates. Medical Laboratory Science Theory and Practice. New Delhi. Tata McGraw Hill, pp. 1067-1068.
Olayiwola, I. O., Oganah, B. C., Oguntona, C. R. B., Popoola, A. R., Sanni, S. A., and Wobo, S. O. (2013). Status of aflatoxin and anti-nutritional contents of standardized maize-based dishes / snacks consumed in Nigeria. Discourse Journal of Agriculture and Food Sciences, 1(5), 93–96.
Oluwafemi, F., and Ibeh, I. N. (2011). Microbial contamination of seven major weaning foods in Nigeria. Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition, 29(4), 415–419.
Oyelakin, A. O., Fasidi, I. O., Odebode, A. C., Jonathan, S. G., and Babalola,B. J. (2004). Control of pathogenic fungi on Pleurotus tuberregium cultures.World Rural Observations, 6(1), 107–113.
Pitt, J. I., and Hocking, A. D., (1997). Fungi and Food Spoilage, 2nd edition, Blackie Academic and Professional, London.
Pitt, J. I., Hocking, A. D., and Glenn, D. R., (1983). An improved medium for the detection of Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus. Journalof AppliedBacteriology, 54, 109-114.
Probst, C., Njapau, H. and Cotty, P. J., (2007). Outbreak of an acute aflatoxicosis in Kenya in 2004: identification of the causal agent. American Society for Microbiology, 73(8), 2762–2764.
Samson, R. A., Hoekstra, E. S., and Frisvad, J. C., (2004). Introduction to Food and Airborne Fungi, 7th edition, Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures, Utrecht, Netherlands, p. 389.
Scheidegger, K. A, and Payne, G. A., (2003). Unlocking the secrets behind secondary metabolism: A Review of Aspergillus flavus from pathogenicity to functional genomics. Journal of Toxicology, 22(2-3), 423-459.
Shephard, G. S. (2008). Determination of mycotoxins in human foods. Chemical Society Reviews,37, 2468-2477.doi: 10.1039/b713084h.
Wrather, J. A., (2008). University of Missouri-Delta Center, Laura, E. Sweets, Plant Pathologist, Commercial Agriculture, University of Missouri. Aflatoxin in corn,573, 5379 – 5431.
Yu, J., Whitelaw, C. A., Nierman, W. C., Bhatnagar, D. and Cleveland, T. E., (2004). Aspergillus flavus expressed sequence tags for identification of genes with putative roles in aflatoxin contamination of crops. FEMS Microbiology Letters, 237(2), 333-340.
Published
2021-11-04
How to Cite
Uchegbu, U., Uche-Uchegbu, N., Ogboi, J., & Ndukwe, C. (2021). FUNGAL CONTAMINANTS ASSOCIATED WITH SOME FOOD STUFF IN OWERRI, SOUTHEAST, NIGERIA. GPH-International Journal of Biological & Medicine Science, 4(11), 01-16. Retrieved from https://gphjournal.org/index.php/bs/article/view/487