Abstract

BEJARANO RODRIGUEZ, Rossianny José  and  CENTENO BRICENO, Sara Josefina. Citrus limon extract for aflatoxin and aflatoxigenic fungi control in concentrated chicken feed produced in Venezuela. Rev. Soc. Ven. Microbiol. [online]. 2009, vol.29, n.1, pp.57-61. ISSN 1315-2556.

The presence of total aflatoxins in samples of concentrated chicken feed was evaluated, and control techniques for aflatoxigenic fungi and their toxins (aflatoxins) using a Citrus limon commercial extract were applied. For this purpose, 50 samples were collected randomly from a lot of concentrated chicken feed. The aflatoxin concentrations were quantified through a competitive enzyme-linked-immunosorbent-assay (ELISA), and an aflatoxin control system was applied using a Citrus limon extract. Finally, the antifungal capacity of the extract over the growth of the aflatoxigenic fungi isolated from the samples was determined. It was established that 90% of the analyzed samples were contaminated with aflatoxins, and 54% of them had a 5-14 µg/kg concentration range. The Citrus limon extract was a potently antiaflatoxigenic and antifungal, reducing the aflatoxin concentrations in the chicken feed samples in up to 73.6%, and totally inhibiting the growth of fungi described as aflatoxigenic

Keywords : Citrus limon extract; aflatoxigenic fungi; concentrated feed.