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Natural Formation of Styrene by Cinnamon Mold Flora
Author(s) -
Lafeuille J.L.,
Buniak M.L.,
Vioujas M.C.,
Lefevre S.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of food science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 150
eISSN - 1750-3841
pISSN - 0022-1147
DOI - 10.1111/j.1750-3841.2009.01206.x
Subject(s) - penicillium citrinum , styrene , mold , food science , aspergillus niger , chemistry , incubation , aspergillus flavus , aspergillus , biology , botany , organic chemistry , biochemistry , copolymer , polymer
Tests on 106 dried pure cinnamon samples of diverse origins showed that some samples were naturally contaminated with high levels of styrene, up to 524 μg/g. Styrene taint can be associated with high water activity levels and thus with microorganism growth. The mold flora of a Korintji cinnamon sample in which styrene had been found at a 50 μg/g concentration was analyzed and 5 species of mold were isolated. An investigation into the ability of the 5 species of mold to produce styrene showed that 3 of them—namely, Penicillium citrinum , Penicillium oxalicum , Aspergillus niger —produced styrene in vitro in buffered peptone water at 25 °C within 5 d in the presence of several natural cinnamon volatile constituents containing the styrene structure. The conversion of these compounds into styrene by these 3 cinnamon fungal species has never been previously reported. A standardized inoculation with the 3 mold species was carried out on 10 g cinnamon samples of various origins followed by a 10‐d incubation and highlighting styrene production except for Sri Lanka origin.