Inhibition of Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus by some herbs and spices.
The inhibitory effect of water-soluble extracts of garlic bulbs, green garlic, green onions, hot peppers, ginger, Chinese parsley, and basil on the growth of Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus was examined. Garlic bulbs, green garlic, and green onions showed an inhibitory effect against these two fungi. The influence of heat, acid, and salt upon the inhibitory effect of these three herbs was further studied. Increasing the temperature from 60 to 100 degrees C resulted in a significant (P < 0.05) decrease in the inhibitory effect of garlic bulbs against the fungi tested. Green garlic and green onion lost their antifungal activity against A. niger after being treated at 80 and 60 degrees, respectively. For A. flavus, the inhibitory effect of green garlic declined significantly (P < 0.05) with an increase in temperature. However, the antifungal activity of green onions against A. flavus was heat stable. For both fungi tested in this study, the antifungal activity of these spice plants was not affected by acid treatments at pH values 2, 4, or 6, or salt by treatments at concentrations of 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4 M (P > 0.05).
Institute of Nutritional Science, Chungshan Medical and Dental College, Taiwan, Republic of China.
M C
MC
Yin
W S
WS
Cheng
D001231:Aspergillus flavus / Q000187:drug effects*; D001234:Aspergillus niger / Q000187:drug effects*; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D019684:Magnoliopsida / Q000737:chemistry*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000494:pharmacology; D017365:Spices
D010936:Plant Extracts; D012965:Sodium Chloride