Investigating the Use of Crude Atili Oil for Maintenance of Stock Fungal Cultures

Abstract

Atili oil is obtained from the fruits of the Atili plant (Canarium schweinfurtii), a perennial tree commonly found in several parts of the country, especially the Northern and Southeastern Nigeria. In Pankshin local Government area of Plateau State, the oil extraction is done by several households both for commercial and domestic purposes. Atili oil obtained from Pankshin was incorporated in graded concentrations into Sabouraud’s dextrose agar to obtain 10%, 20%, 30%, 50% and 100% oil in SDA medium. A portion (4mm plug) of an actively growing fungus from a pure culture of each of the isolates of Microsporum ferrugineum, Trichosporon beigelii, Candida albicans, Trichophyton soudanense and Geotrichum candidum was placed on the SDA-oil medium and incubated at room temperature. The cultures were observed weekly, for several months, for growth and evaluated for viability by sub-culturing onto SDA devoid of oil. Controls were set up for each of the organisms and these served as the basis for comparison. The results of this work indicate a good prospect for maintenance of stock fungal cultures with Atili oil. The benefits of this finding to the laboratory mycologist in Nigeria are discussed.

Key words: Canarium schweinfurtii, Atili plant, Pankshin, Sabouraud’s dextrose agar