Rapid and specific method for screening ergosterol as an index of fungal contamination in cereal grains

Ergosterol is used as an effective biochemical marker for fungal contamination in food grains. A simple and rapid qualitative method for screening ergosterol in cereal grains is described. The method involves the formation of a highly fluorescent addition product of ergosterol after an iodination re...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inFood chemistry Vol. 31; no. 1; pp. 51 - 56
Main Authors Rao, B.Sashidhar, Rao, V.Sudershan, Ramakrishna, Y., Bhat, Ramesh V.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Oxford Elsevier Ltd 1989
Elsevier
Subjects
Biological and medical sciences
Cereal and baking product industries
Food industries
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Thin layer chromatography
Ergosterol
Quality control
Cereal
Identification
Mould
Biological contamination
Fluorescence spectrometry
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Summary:Ergosterol is used as an effective biochemical marker for fungal contamination in food grains. A simple and rapid qualitative method for screening ergosterol in cereal grains is described. The method involves the formation of a highly fluorescent addition product of ergosterol after an iodination reaction. Iodinated ergosterol shows a characteristic greenish-blue fluorescence under longwave ultraviolet light. Further, chemical confirmatory tests are also incorporated for identifying ergosterol. The method developed may be used in the food industry, and for routine surveillance of cereal grains for fungal contamination.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-1
content type line 23
ISSN:0308-8146
1873-7072
DOI:10.1016/0308-8146(89)90150-7