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

The potential use of antifungal component eugenol for the reduction of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) 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 AFB1 production. From this study it was found that at 8.025 mg/g concentration, eugenol completely inhibited the AFB1 production. The lowest amount of AFB1 was observed in genotype M35-1, whereas higher amount AFB1 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.