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Suppressed Production of Aflatoxin B1 by Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus on California In-hull Almonds and Hull Fragments

Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Almond hulls are economically important by-products marketed as dairy cattle feed in California. This study investigated the ability of Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus to grow and produce aflatoxins on almond hulls. In-hull almond kernels and hull fragments were incubated at 0.92-0.98 a w and 20-35 °C for 20 days. There was no growth and aflatoxin production at 0.92 a w by either fungus. Both A. flavus and A. parasiticus were able to grow at 0.95-0.98 a w and 20-35 °C on almond hulls. While Aspergillus flavus grew well on the in-hull almonds at 0.95-0.98 a w and 27-35 °C, it did not produce any aflatoxins under any of the study conditions. In contrast, A. parasiticus produced aflatoxins B 1 , G 1 , B 2 and G 2 . On the in-hull kernels, A. parasiticus synthesized the highest levels of total aflatoxins (>100 µg/kg) at 27 °C and 0.95-0.98 a w . On the hull fragments, 20 °C and 0.95 a w was the ideal condition for aflatoxin production, where the average total aflatoxin production was of 35 µg/kg. The predominant aflatoxin synthesized by A. parasiticus was AFG 1 , accounting for up to 100% of the total aflatoxin produced on the hulls, which highlights the need to measure and report total aflatoxins (rather than AFB 1 only) for almond hulls. Further studies are needed to determine the factors that limit AFB 1 synthesis by A. flavus and A. parasiticus on almond hulls. Also, the types of phenolic acids present in California almond hulls need to be identified.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jfp.2025.100531
Language: English
Subfield: Plant Science
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,300
OpenAlex ID: W4410108877
FWCI:
Cites: 24
Cited by:
Related to: 10