Incidence of Fungal Flora and Aflatoxin in Some Spices Sold in Central Market, Funtua, Nigeria

Abstract

Spices get contaminated with fungi and aflatoxin due to poor agricultural and storage practices. A total of 42 dried, raw, powdered, and processed samples representing fourteen different types of spices were randomly collected in new polythene bags from Funtua Central Market, Nigeria, and were screened for fungi and aflatoxin contamination. The spices were Clove, African nutmeg, Ashanti pepper, Candlewood, Ethiopian pepper, Pineapple of the bush, Ginger, Garlic, Chillies, Kajiji, Thyme, Chilli powder (yaji), Curry, and Locust bean (Dadawa). Fungi were isolated on Potato Dextrose Agar by the Agar plate method for dried and raw samples and the Standard Dilution Plate method for powdered samples. Seven fungal species were isolated and identified as Aspergillus flavus, A. parasiticus, A. fumigatus, Rhizoctonia sp., Mucor hiemalis, Rhizopus stolonifer, and Nigrospora sphaerica. Percentage occurrence of fungal species ranged from 0.8% to 50.4%. Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) was used for aflatoxin determination. Aflatoxin was only detected in 4 out of 14 spices (28.6%), namely garlic (3.3 µg/kg), Ethiopian pepper (5.7 µg/kg), chillies (16.6 µg/kg), and African nutmeg (17.2 µg/kg). African nutmeg and chillies had aflatoxin levels above the maximum acceptable limit of 10 µg/kg set by the EU and NAFDAC and are, therefore, not safe for human consumption.