Prevalence of Aflatoxigenic Fungi in Cereal Grains And Their Related Chemical Metabolites

Abstract

Aflatoxins (AFs) are chemical compounds with high toxic impacts produced by Aspergillus section Flavi. Toxigenic fungi contaminate foods and feed, thus presenting biological and chemical contamination resulting in health issues. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the prevalence of toxigenic fungi in several cereal grains collected from different Egyptian governorates, as well as to evaluate the ability of toxigenic fungi to produce AFs using coconut agar medium (CAM), thin-layer chromatography (TLC), and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Results revealed that Aspergillus spp. were the predominant fungi in barley, white corn, yellow corn, and rice samples, followed by Penicillium spp. Data also showed that barley, white corn, yellow corn, and rice obtained from Alexandria g