Isolation and identification of associated fungi and ‎quantification of fungal toxin (aflatoxins) in locally grinded ‎dried red pepper

Abstract

Contamination of spices with aflatoxin is a serious global concern that affects human health and international trade. This study aims to isolate and identify fungi associated with locally ground dried red pepper samples, and quantification of aflatoxins concentration, and compare it with Libyan and international standard specifications.The results of the isolation and identification using nutritional medium potato agar extract (PDA) for 40 samples randomly selected from total samples, showed the isolation of 232  fungal isolates belonging to 3 genera of the genus Aspergillus spp., Acremonium sp., and Rhizopus sp., the isolated genera consist of 7 species, with the highest presence was of the fungi of the genus Aspergillus spp. at a rate of 99.14%, isolated Aspergillus spp. consist of 5 species with the most important species were A. flavus and A. niger, the results  of  fungal frequency showed the fungus A. flavus recorded the highest frequency, with a rate of 56.02%, followed by the fungus Aspergillus niger, with a rate of 35.80%. The results of extraction and quantification of total aflatoxin from 80 total samples at a detection limit higher than 0.25 ng/g showed the presence of aflatoxin in 69 samples (86.25%) at a concentration ranging between 0.250 and 41.33 ng/g, with an average concentration of 10.04 and 8.66 ng/g for the positive and total samples, respectively. The results of the study also showed that 57 samples (71.25%) were within the maximum permissible limits, and 23 samples (28.75%) of the total samples contained a concentration higher than the maximum permissible limits in the Libyan and the European union standard for the maximum limits of mycotoxins (aflatoxin) in some food contaminants, which constitutes a serious safety concern and indicates potential health risks to consumers, and confirms the need for urgent intervention strategies in order to implement agricultural practices. and following good manufacturing practice, and increasing awareness of the effects of the presence of these mycotoxins on human health.