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Efficacy of natamycin for control of growth and ochratoxin A production by Aspergillus carbonarius strains under different environmental conditions
Author(s) -
Medina Á.,
Jiménez M.,
Mateo R.,
Magan N.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of applied microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.889
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1365-2672
pISSN - 1364-5072
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2672.2007.03462.x
Subject(s) - natamycin , ochratoxin a , ochratoxin , food science , biology , chemistry , microbiology and biotechnology , mycotoxin
Aims: To examine the efficacy of natamycin produced by Streptomyces natalensis against strains of Aspergillus carbonarius growth and ochratoxin A (OTA) production under different environmental factors on a grape juice‐based medium. Methods and Results: Detailed studies in the range 0–20 ng ml −1 for control of growth and ochratoxin production by strains of A. carbonarius at 0·98, 0·96 and 0·94 water availabilities ( a w ) and 15–25°C on a fresh red grape extract medium were examined. Inhibition of growth was depending on temperature and a w level. At 15°C, 5–10 ng ml −1 natamycin was effective in reducing growth almost completely. However, at 20–25°C and all the three a w levels, growth was only slightly inhibited by 5–10 ng ml −1 natamycin. There were strain differences with regard to inhibition of OTA production. At 15°C and 0·98 a w , 10 ng ml −1 was required to inhibit production by >90%. However, at 0·96 and 0·94 a w , almost complete inhibition occurred. At 20°C, OTA production was only significantly inhibited by 10 ng ml −1 natamycin at 0·94 a w . At 0·96 and 0·98 a w , some inhibition occurred with 5–10 ng ml −1 , but greater concentrations would be required for effective inhibition. At 25°C, 5 ng ml −1 was effective at all a w levels. However, at 15°C and 25°C and a wide range of a w levels, natamycin effectively controlled OTA production. Conclusions: Natamycin appears to be a very effective for controlling growth and OTA production by strains of A. carbonarius over a range of a w and temperature conditions on grape‐based media. Significance and Impact of the Study: This is the first detailed study to demonstrate the impact of natamycin against A. carbonarius . This study suggests that use of natamycin at 50–100 ng ml −1 can give complete inhibition of growth of A. carbonarius and OTA production over a range of environmental conditions. Natamycin could be an important component of a system to prevent OTA contamination of wine as well during the drying and production of vine fruits.