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HOME > J. Microbiol > Volume 54(12); 2016 > Article
Journal Article
Mycobiota of ground red pepper and their aflatoxigenic potential
Hyeonheui Ham , Sosoo Kim , Min-Hee Kim , Soohyung Lee , Sung Kee Hong , Jae-Gee Ryu , Theresa Lee
Journal of Microbiology 2016;54(12):832-837.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12275-016-6480-2
Published online: November 26, 2016
Microbial Safety Team, National Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Rural Development Administration, Wanju 55365, Republic of KoreaMicrobial Safety Team, National Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Rural Development Administration, Wanju 55365, Republic of Korea
Corresponding author:  Theresa Lee , Tel: -, 
Received: 26 September 2016   • Revised: 11 October 2016   • Accepted: 17 October 2016
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Abstract

To investigate contamination of ground red pepper with fungi and mycotoxin, we obtained 30 ground red pepper samples from 15 manufacturers in the main chili-pepper-producing areas in Korea. Fungal contamination was evaluated by spreading diluted samples on potato dextrose agar plates. The total fungi counts ranged from 0 to 7.3 × 103 CFU/g. In the samples, the genus Aspergillus had the highest incidence, while Paecilomyces was isolated most frequently. The next most frequent genera were Rhizopus, Penicillium, Cladosporium, and Alternaria. Within Aspergillus, A. ruber was predominant, followed by A. niger, A. amstelodami, A. ochraceus, A. terreus, A. versicolor, A. flavus, and A. fumigatus. The samples were analyzed for aflatoxins, ochratoxin A, and citrinin by ultraperfomance liquid chromatography (UPLC) with a fluorescence detector. Ochratoxin A was detected from three samples at 1.03‒2.08 μg/kg, whereas no aflatoxins or citrinin were detected. To test the potential of fungal isolates to produce aflatoxin, we performed a PCR assay that screened for the norB-cypA gene for 64 Aspergillus isolates. As a result, a single 800-bp band was amplified from 10 A. flavus isolates, and one Aspergillus sp. isolate. UPLC analyses confirmed aflatoxin production by nine A. flavus isolates and one Aspergillus sp. isolate, which produced total aflatoxins at 146.88‒909.53 μg/kg. This indicates that continuous monitoring of ground red pepper for toxigenic fungi is necessary to minimize mycotoxin contamination.

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    Mycobiota of ground red pepper and their aflatoxigenic potential
    J. Microbiol. 2016;54(12):832-837.   Published online November 26, 2016
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12275-016-6480-2
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