Patulin Production by Penicillium glabrumIsolated from Coffea arabica

Document Type : Original Article

Abstract

COFFEE bean seeds in developing countries are of the crops, which found to be contaminated with toxigenic fungi. Accordingly, reduction of mycotoxins in coffee bean seeds has been a major mission of many studies in such countries. Five of thirty coffee bean seed samples collected from Jeddah were contaminated with patulin (30-48 μgkg-1). A toxigenic isolate of Penicillium glabrum was recovered from the contaminated samples. Factors affecting P. glabrum growth and patulin production included temperature and types of substrates were studied. The highest concentrations of patulin were produced at 20°C and in Coffee Dextrose (CD) medium. There was a significant correlation between ground coffee concentration in the liquid medium, P. glabrum growth and mycotoxin production. Increasing ground coffee concentrations in the CD medium increased fungal growth but decreased patulin production. Caffeine also decreased or inhibited mycotoxin production by P. glabrum when grown in liquid CD medium. Coffee in Saudi Arabia often is mixed with other plant materials or products. Addition of saffron or ginger to CD medium at 1g l-1 enhanced Penicillium growth and patulin production, addition of cardamom prevented mycotoxins production and allowed some fungal growth. On contrast, addition of cinnamon or cloves (1g l-1) inhibited both fungal growth and mycotoxins production. In conclusion, coffee beans are exposed to contamination with toxigenic fungal isolates. Ground coffee, caffeine, cardamom, cinnamon and cloves may prevent mycotoxin production.

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