The present work was carried out to study the mycobiota of cocoa beans from farm to chocolate. Four hundred and ninety-four samples were analyzed at various stages of cocoa processing: (i) primary stage at the farm (fermentation, drying, and storage), (ii) secondary stage at processing (testa, nibs, liquor, butter, cake and powder) and (iii) the final chocolate product (dark, milk, white and po...

Ochratoxin A (OTA)-a toxin produced by Aspergillus carbonarius, Aspergillus ochraceus, and Penicillium verrucosum-is one of the most-abundant food-contaminating mycotoxins. To avoid the risk of OTA consumption for humans and animals, the rapid detection and quantitation of OTA level in different commodities are of great importance. In this work, an impedimetric immunosensor for ochratoxin A (OT...

A rapid method for preparing cell-free extracts of Aspergillus ochraceus was developed. Mycelial mats were prefrozen in liquid nitrogen, ground to a fine powder in a cold mortar, and homogenized in an all-glass mechanical homogenizer. This method provided preparations averaging 43.0 mg of protein per g of mycelium (wet weight). The method was fast, efficient, and did not subject the extract ...

A strain of Aspergillus ochraceus Wilhelm, isolated from poultry feed, produced both penicillic acid and ochratoxin A. Studies demonstrating the ability of this fungus to colonize poultry feed and produce these two mycotoxins under various temperatures and moistures indicated that the interaction was complex. The optimal temperature for conidial development did not vary with moisture, but accum...

The xylanase biosynthesis is induced by its substrate-xylan. The high xylan content in some wastes such as wheat residues (wheat bran and wheat straw) makes them accessible and cheap sources of inducers to be mainly applied in great volumes of fermentation, such as those of industrial bioreactors. Thus, in this work, the main proposal was incorporated in the nutrient medium wheat straw particle...

Rotten sweet potato root tuber samples were collected from a barn and experimental field of the CSIR - Plant Genetic Resources Research Institute (PGRRI), Bunso. Isolation identification fungi associated with carried out at Pathology Laboratory same institute. In all, six fungal species belonging to four genera, namely Fusarium solani, Sclerotium rolfsii, Lasiodiplodia theobromae, Aspergillus o...