Evaluation of Fungal Flora and Mycotoxin Contamination in Whole Dried Apricots (Prunus armeniaca L.) from J&K, India

The present study evaluated the presence of micro-fungi and mycotoxins in fifty six market samples of dried apricots. Twenty two fungal species belonging to ten genera were isolated using standard methods. Aspergillus niger showed the highest frequency percentage. Assessment of mycobial load of dried apricots showed the presence of many such fungal species that are widely acknowledged as the most important mycotoxin producers. Mycotoxins were assessed by high performance liquid chromatography. 12.5 % of dried apricot samples tested positive for total aflatoxins (AFs) at a mean value of 35 ± 0.006 ng/g and 19.64 % samples contained patulin (PAT) (1025 ± 0.01 ng/g). Ochratoxin A (OTA) was quantified in 28.57 % of positive samples at a mean value of 194 ± 0.001 ng/g. Mycotoxin co-occurrence was recorded in low frequency. The co-occurrence of AFs–OTA, OTA–PAT and AFs–OTA–PAT has been detected in 3.57, 12.5 and 3.57 % samples respectively. To the best of author’s knowledge, this is the first report on the natural occurrence of mycoflora and mycotoxins in dried apricots from India but no literature is available on co-occurrence of AFs, OTA and PAT in dried apricots.