Inhibition of aflatoxin B1 production by an antifungal component, eugenol in stored sorghum grains

Abstract The potential use of antifungal component eugenol for the reduction of aflatoxin B 1 (AFB 1 ) in stored sorghum grain was investigated. Fungal infestation of sorghum results in deterioration of varied biochemical composition of the grain. In this study, three genotypes (M35-1; C-43; LPJ) were inoculated with two highly toxigenic strains of Aspergillus flavus with three different eugenol treatments in order to evaluate the AFB 1 production. From this study it was found that at 8.025 mg/g concentration, eugenol completely inhibited the AFB 1 production. The lowest amount of AFB 1 was observed in genotype M35-1, whereas higher amount AFB 1 was observed in LPJ followed by C-43. In all sorghum genotypes there was a significant positive correlation existing between protein content and aflatoxin produced, the r values being 0.789 and 0.653, respectively. Starch in three genotypes was found to have a significant negative correlation ( r  = −0.704; −0.609) with aflatoxin produced. The starch content decreased whereas the protein content in all sorghum varieties increased during infection.