Physiological and hepatotoxic studies on fungal aflatoxins isolated from Egyptian cereals

ABSTRACT

This work was carried out to study the incidence of aflatoxins in cereal samples collected from different localities of Gharbia Governorate. Forty fungal isolates were able to produce aflatoxins. The maximum aflatoxins production was observed on sabouraud-yeast extract- liquid medium when inoculated with concentration of 1 x 106 spores/ml of culture medium. Only six local toxigenic isolates of Aspergillus flavus strains in addition to Aspergillus parasiticus NRLL 2999 strain were proved to produce significant amount of aflatoxin when inoculated in a powder of four selected cereals [pesium, wheat phaseolus and rice]. Hepatotoxicity assay of the cereals containing aflatoxins revealed the presence of significant amount of aflatoxin B1 enough to alter the enzymatic activity of liver in particular glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase [GOT] and glutamate pyruvate transaminase [GPT]