title: Mycotoxin production and predictive modelling kinetics on the growth of Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus isolates in whole black peppercorns (Piper nigrum L).
abstract: The growth and mycotoxin production of three Aspergillus flavus isolates and an Aspergillus parasiticus isolate were studied in whole black peppercorns (Piper nigrum L.) using a full factorial design with seven water activity (aw) (0.826-0.984) levels and three temperatures (22, 30 and 37°C). Growth rates and lag phases were estimated using linear regression. Diverse secondary models were assessed for their ability to describe the radial growth rate as a function of individual and combined effect of aw and temperature. Optimum radial growth rate ranged from 0.75±0.04 to 2.65±0.02mm/day for A. flavus and 1.77±0.10 to 2.50±0.10mm/day for A. parasiticus based on the Rosso cardinal estimations. Despite the growth failure of some isolates at marginal conditions, all the studied models showed good performance to predict the growth rates. Validation of the models was performed on independently derived data. The bias factors (0.73-1.03), accuracy factors (0.97-1.36) and root mean square error (0.050-0.278) show that the examined models are conservative predictors of the colony growth rate of both fungal species in black peppers. The Rosso cardinal model can be recommended to describe the individual aw effect while the extended Gibson model was the best model for describing the combined effect of aw and temperature on the growth rate of both fungal species in peppercorns. Temperature optimum ranged from 30 to 33°C, while aw optimum was 0.87-0.92 as estimated by multi-factorial cardinal model for both species. The estimated minimum temperature and aw for A. flavus and A. parasiticus for growth were 11-16°C and 0.73-0.76, respectively, hence, achieving these conditions should be considered during storage to prevent the growth of these mycotoxigenic fungal species in black peppercorns. Following the growth study, production of mycotoxins (aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, G2, sterigmatocystin and O-methyl sterigmatocystin (OMST)) was quantified using LC-MS/MS. Very small quantities of AFB1 (<LOQ-9.1μg/kg) were produced only by A. parasiticus. OMST was not produced in any growth conditions by both species. Sterigmatocystin (<LOQ-76.7μg/kg) was the dominant mycotoxin found. High variability in mycotoxin production restricted the modelling of mycotoxin production in black pepper.
authors.affiliation: nutriFOODchem unit, Department of Food Safety and Food Quality (partner in Food2Know), Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Belgium; Laboratory of Food Analysis, Department of Bioanalysis (partner in Food2Know), Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ghent University, Belgium. Electronic address: ypratheeba@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Pratheeba
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Yogendrarajah
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Food Microbiology and Food Preservation, Department of Food Safety and Food Quality (partner in Food2Know), Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Belgium.
authors.forename: An
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vermeulen
authors.affiliation: nutriFOODchem unit, Department of Food Safety and Food Quality (partner in Food2Know), Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Belgium; Laboratory of Food Microbiology and Food Preservation, Department of Food Safety and Food Quality (partner in Food2Know), Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Belgium.
authors.forename: Liesbeth
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jacxsens
authors.affiliation: nutriFOODchem unit, Department of Food Safety and Food Quality (partner in Food2Know), Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Belgium.
authors.forename: Evangelia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mavromichali
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Food Analysis, Department of Bioanalysis (partner in Food2Know), Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ghent University, Belgium.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: De Saeger
authors.affiliation: nutriFOODchem unit, Department of Food Safety and Food Quality (partner in Food2Know), Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Belgium.
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: De Meulenaer
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Food Microbiology and Food Preservation, Department of Food Safety and Food Quality (partner in Food2Know), Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Belgium.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Devlieghere
mesh_terms: D001230:Aspergillus / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism*; D001231:Aspergillus flavus / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism*; D005516:Food Microbiology; D007700:Kinetics; D008954:Models, Biological; D009183:Mycotoxins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D029222:Piper nigrum / Q000382:microbiology*; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry; D013696:Temperature; D014867:Water
chemical_list: D009183:Mycotoxins; D014867:Water
keywords: Aflatoxins; Growth rate; LC–MS/MS; Sterigmatocystin; Temperature; Water activity