Primary investigation of contaminating fungi on Panax notoginseng and Amomum tsaoko in Yunnan / 中国中药杂志

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To analyze the potential risks of fungal contaminants on Panax notoginseng and Amomum tsaoko.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The primary investigation was conducted in the P. notoginseng and A. tsaoko major production areas in Yunnan. Samples of P. notoginseng and A. tsaoko were collected from drugstores and markets in 3 cities of Yunnan. Dilution-plate method was applied for the isolation of fungi, the obtained species were identified according to morphological and molecular approaches.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>Paecilomyces lilacinus and Penicillium citrinum were dominant on samples of Panax notoginseng. P. lilacinus and Aspergillus flavus were dominant on samples of Amomum tsaoko.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>In Yunnan province, the major fungal contaminants on P. notoginseng are P. lilacinus and P. citrinum and the major fungal contaminants on A. tsaoko are P. lilacinus and Aspergillus flavus. There exists a potential contamination risk of citrinin on P. notoginseng and aflatoxin on A. tsaoko.</p>