Fungi and Their Associated Mycotoxins Contaminating Tomato Fruits (Solanum lycopersicum) and Potential Control of Fruit Spoilage by Essential Oils

Abstract

Tomato fruits (Solanum lycopersicum) are among the most horticultural popular crops consumed worldwide. They are susceptible to fungal infection and subsequent contamination with mycotoxins. So the current work aimed to assess the occurrence of spoilage fungi and their associated mycotoxins in tomato fruits, and evaluation of antifungal activity of cinnamon and fennel essential oils (alone and
in pair combination) in controlling the tomato spoilage caused by mycotoxigenic fungi. The obtained data resulted that, 1373 fungal isolates were detected. Nine fungal species were identified as Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus niger, A. flavus, A. parasiticus, Colletetrichum sp., Geotrichum candidum, Mucor sp., Penicillium expansum, and Rhizopus stolinifer. Alternaria alternata isolates No. (2 & 29) from locations D & A produced Alternariol toxin, A. parasiticus isolate No. (1) from location A was aflatoxins producer, and Penicillium expansum isolate No. (1) from location B produced Citrinin. On the other hand, Cinnamaldehyde, (E) - compound was the major constituent detected in cinnamon oil, while Estragole compound was the main constituent in fennel oil. Cinnamon and fennel essential oils and their mixture reduced significantly the mycelial growth of the tested mycotoxigenic fungi at all concentrations used under in vitro and in vivo conditions compared with the untreated control. It could be concluded that cinnamon and fennel essential oils and their mixture are highly effective against tomato spoilage caused by mycotoxigenic fungi.