Production of aflatoxin by Aspergillus flavus using a modified medium and testing its toxicogenic activity on plant models

Author(s): Basil D'Mello*, Maithilee Raut, Rohan Gavankar, Deepa Verma, Maya Chemburkar

Abstract

Aflatoxins are toxic, mutagenic, carcinogenic and teratogenic secondary metabolites posing health hazards to humans, animals and also adversely affect agricultural production. The medium was modified using freshly grated coconut as a substrate and was supplemented with 1 % Asparagine for Aflatoxin production using Aspergillus flavus. This modified medium proved to be an excellent source and yielded a maximum of 9 mg of Aflatoxin per gram of substrate used. The Broth filtrate was defatted with petroleum ether and Aflatoxin was extracted using soxhlet apparatus with methanol as the solvent. The Aflatoxin was detected using TLC. The effect of aflatoxin on seed germination and root elongation was tested on plant models -wheat and onion respectively.

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