Pimenta dioica essential oil as a novel plant based antimicrobial against fungal and aflatoxin B1 contamination of stored maize. - GreenMedInfo Summary
Chemically characterised Pimenta dioica (L.) Merr. essential oil as a novel plant based antimicrobial against fungal and aflatoxin Bcontamination of stored maize and its possible mode of action.
Nat Prod Res. 2018 Nov 13:1-5. Epub 2018 Nov 13. PMID: 30421964
Anand Kumar Chaudhari
The chemical characterisation of Pimenta dioica essential oil (PDEO) revealed the presence of 50 components, amongst whichα-Terpineol (30.31%) was the major component followed by β-Linalool (6.75%) and γ-Terpinene (4.64%). The oil completely inhibited the growth of aflatoxin Bsecreting strain Aspergillus flavus LHP-VS-8 and aflatoxin Bproduction at 2.5 µL/mL and 1.5 µL/mL, respectively. The oil caused dose dependent reduction of methylglyoxal (an AFBinducer), enhanced leakage of Ca, Mgand Kions and significantly reduced ergosterol content of fungal plasma membrane. During in situ experiments, PDEO exhibited complete protection of fumigated maize cob slices from fungal infestation without affecting seed germination. The chemically characterised PDEO is recommended as a plant based preservative and shelf life enhancer of food commodities by preventing fungal growth, AFBproduction and lipid peroxidation. This is the first report on PDEO as inhibitor of AFBsecretion and methylglyoxal biosynthesis.[Formula: see text].