Cumulative Effects of Non-Aflatoxigenic Aspergillus flavus Volatile Organic Compounds to Abate Toxin Production by Mycotoxigenic Aspergilli

• Published in: Toxins Vol. 14; no. 5; p. 340
• Main Authors: Moore, Geromy G, Lebar, Matthew D, Carter-Wientjes, Carol H
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 13.05.2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Aflatoxins; Aspergillus flavus; biocontrol mechanism; Biological control; Cyclopiazonic acid; Harvesting; indole diterpenes; Metabolites; Mycotoxins; Organic compounds; Pathogens; Toxins; VOCs; Volatile organic compounds; VOCs; cyclopiazonic acid; aflatoxins; biocontrol mechanism; indole diterpenes
• ISSN: 2072-6651; 2072-6651
• DOI: 10.3390/toxins14050340

Previously, authors reported that individual volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by non-aflatoxigenic could act as a mechanism of biocontrol to significantly reduce aflatoxins and cyclopiazonic acid (CPA) produced by toxigenic strains. In this study, various combinations and volumes of three mycotoxin-reductive VOCs (2,3-dihydrofuran, 3-octanone and decane) were assessed for their cumulative impacts on four strains (LA1-LA4), which were then analyzed for changes in growth, as well as the production of mycotoxins, including aflatoxins, CPA and multiple indole diterpenes. Fungal growth remained minimally inhibited when exposed to various combinations of VOCs. No single combination was able to consistently, or completely, inhibit aflatoxin or CPA across all toxigenic strains tested. However, the combination of 2,3-dihydrofuran and 3-octanone offered the greatest overall reductions in aflatoxin and CPA production. Despite no elimination of their production, findings showed that combining VOCs produced solely by non-aflatoxigenic still inhibited several agriculturally important mycotoxins, including B and G aflatoxins and CPA. Therefore, other VOC combinations are worth testing as post-harvest biocontrol treatments to ensure the prolonged effectiveness of pre-harvest biocontrol efforts.