Determination of Mycotoxins in Food Condiments by the ELISA method

Abstract

Fungi being an intrinsic constituent of the earth cause contamination in many foodstuffs including food condiments among these fungi are the Aflatoxigenic fungi, Aflatoxins are considered the most poisonous mycotoxin that is produced by Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus. Exposure to Aflatoxins can lead to aflatoxicosis which can be life-threatening as it could damage the liver, Aflatoxins are found to be mutagenic as well as carcinogen. Aflatoxin is so harmful that WHO has grouped it into a group 1 carcinogen. Considering these aspects, this study was designed to investigate the presence of Aflatoxigenic fungi food condiments sold in Karachi, Pakistan. Many samples (local and branded) of many different categories of food condiments including Ketchup, Spices, and Vinegar are collected. After serial dilutions, the samples were spread on Sabouraud’s dextrose agar and incubated for 7 days at room temperature. The fungal colonies which appeared were then identified based on microscopic (using lacto phenol cotton blue stain) and macroscopic features, and then preserved using the spore suspension method. The preserved fungal isolates were screened for the presence of Aflatoxigenic fungal strains using the cultural technique (Ammonium hydroxide vapor test) and further quantitative analysis was carried out by ELISA technique and the results contained aflatoxin levels of 4.437 ppb in Vinegar, 2.982 ppb in ketchup, and 24.053 ppb in Black pepper. Further, the biocontrol of aflatoxin was designed using Calocybe indica by providing different natural conditions like carbon source, temperature, and pH.