title: Inhibitory effect of double atmospheric pressure argon cold plasma on spores and mycotoxin production of Aspergillus niger contaminating date palm fruits.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Aspergillus niger has been reported as a potentially dangerous pathogen of date-palm fruits in Saudi Arabia due to the production of fumonisin B2 (FB2 ) and ochratoxin A (OTA). In a trial to disinfect this product, a double atmospheric pressure argon cold plasma (DAPACP) jet system was set up and evaluated against spore germination and mycotoxin production of the pathogen.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The plasma jets were characterised photographically, electrically and spectroscopically. DAPACP jet length increases with the increase of argon flow rate, with optimum rate at 3.5 L min(-1) . The viability of A. niger spores, inoculated onto sterilised date palm fruit discs, progressively decreases with extension of the exposure time of DAPACP due to the more quantitative amount of OH and O radicals interacting with the examined samples. There was a progressive reduction of the amount of FB2 and OTA detected in date palm discs on extension of the exposure time of the plasma-treated inoculums at flow rate of 3.5 L min(-1) . FB2 was not detected in the discs inoculated with 6-min plasma-treated A. niger, while OTA was completely absent when the fungus was treated for 7.5 min.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  DAPACP showed promising results in dry fruit decontamination and in inhibition of mycotoxin release by A. niger contaminating the fruits. The progress in the commercial application of cold plasma needs further investigation concerning the ideal width of the plasma output to enable it to cover wider surfaces of the sample and consequently inducing greater plasma performance.
authors.affiliation: Biology Department, Faculty of Science, Taibah University, Almadinah Almunawwarah, 41477, Saudi Arabia.|Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Giza, 12613, Egypt.
authors.forename: Salama A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Ouf
authors.affiliation: Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Taibah University, Almadinah Almunawwarah, 41477, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Abdulrahman H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Basher
authors.affiliation: Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Taibah University, Almadinah Almunawwarah, 41477, Saudi Arabia.|Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef, 62511, Egypt.
authors.forename: Abdel-Aleam H
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Mohamed
mesh_terms: D001128:Argon; D001234:Aspergillus niger / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D001274:Atmospheric Pressure; D003080:Cold Temperature; D005506:Food Contamination; D005511:Food Handling / Q000379:methods*; D005516:Food Microbiology; D005638:Fruit / Q000382:microbiology*; D037341:Fumonisins; D006801:Humans; D009183:Mycotoxins / Q000378:metabolism; D009793:Ochratoxins; D065749:Phoeniceae; D058626:Plasma Gases; D011312:Pressure; D012529:Saudi Arabia; D013172:Spores, Fungal / Q000254:growth & development
chemical_list: D037341:Fumonisins; D009183:Mycotoxins; D009793:Ochratoxins; D058626:Plasma Gases; C056934:fumonisin B2; C025589:ochratoxin A; D001128:Argon
keywords: Aspergillus niger; cold plasma; date palm; inactivation; mycotoxins