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Mycotoxin production by different ochratoxigenic Aspergillus and Penicillium species on coffee- and wheat-based media

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Abstract

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is one of the most widespread mycotoxins, and is produced by several Aspergillus or Penicillium species. Human exposure to OTA is mainly by intake of contaminated food, with cereal products, followed by coffee and red wine as the main sources of OTA. In this study, the OTA production of four ochratoxigenic fungi (two Aspergillus and two Penicillium species) was investigated in four different media, i.e. wheat and coffee model media as food-based media and two standard laboratory media (malt extract glucose agar, MEA and yeast extract sucrose agar, YES). Colony growth was documented and OTA concentrations in cultures were determined at day 2, 4 and 8 of incubation at 25°C by high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). OTA production clearly depended upon time of incubation, fungal species, and medium composition. On coffee based medium, moderate OTA levels were produced by A. ochraceus BFE635 (9.8 μg/g) and by A. niger BFE632 (10.6 μg/g) on day 8 of incubation. In wheat-based medium, these strains produced much more OTA than in coffee. The highest OTA concentration (83.8 μg/g on day 8) was formed by A. ochraceus BFE635 followed by the other Aspergillus niger BFE632 (49 μg/g). Lower OTA levels were produced by P. verrucosum BFE550 and P. nordicum BFE487, in both wheat and in YES medium, whilst OTA was hardly detectable in coffee and in MEA in case of P. nordicum. Colony growth of the tested strains on different media was not indicative of OTA production. Guttation droplets developed on wheat-based medium with the Aspergillus strains within a week, and this phenomenon coincided with the high OTA amounts formed by these species. Results from this study add to our knowledge on the behaviour of ochratoxigenic fungal species when cultured on food based media.

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Acknowledgements

The authors want to thank the Master in Pharmaceutical Science program of the University of Concepción, Chile. K.M. acknowledges valuable guidance of Dr. P. Färber and Dr. R. Madariaga.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors -IfADo, Ardeystr. 67, 44139, Dortmund, Germany

    Katherine Muñoz & Gisela H. Degen

  2. Department of Food Science, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Concepción, Concepción, Chile

    Mario Vega & Gisela Rios

  3. Max Rubner Institut—Bundesforschungsinstitut für Ernährung und Lebensmittel, Karlsruhe, Germany

    Rolf Geisen

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  1. Katherine Muñoz
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  2. Mario Vega
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  3. Gisela Rios
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  5. Gisela H. Degen
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Correspondence to Katherine Muñoz.

Electronic supplementary material

Fig 5

Colony morphology of Aspergillus ochraceus BFE 635 colonies after 2, 4 and 8 days of growth on standard media (MEA and YES) and food based media (coffee and wheat) at 25°C in darkness (JPEG 64 kb)

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Fig 6

Colony morphology of Aspergillus niger var. niger BFE632 after 2, 4 and 8 days of growth on standard media (MEA and YES) and food based media (coffee and wheat) at 25°C in darkness (JPEG 64 kb)

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Fig 7

Colony morphology of Penicillium verrucosum BFE550 after 2, 4 and 8 days of growth on standard media (MEA and YES) and food based media (coffee and wheat) at 25°C in darkness (JPEG 58 kb)

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Fig 8

Colony morphology of Penicillium nordicum BFE 487 after 2, 4 and 8 days of culture on standard media (MEA and YES) and food based media (coffee and wheat) at 25°C in darkness (JPEG 57 kb)

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Fig 9

HPTLC plates of culture extracts from the strains A. ochraceus BFE635 [A], A. niger BFE632 [B], P. nordicum BFE487 [C], and P. verrucosum BFE550 [D] as viewed under UV light at 366 nm. Extracts of cultures after growth for 2, 4 and 8 day on different media (MEA, YES, Coffee, Wheat) were analyzed as described in the Methods section (JPEG 53 kb)

High Resolution Image (TIFF 353 kb)

Fig. 10

Representative chromatograms of extracts from Penicillium nordicum BFE487 cultures on standard (MEA and YES) and food based media (Coffee and Wheat). Samples were collected at day 2, 4 and 8 of culture and analyzed by HPLC with fluorescence detection as described in the Methods section (JPEG 55 kb)

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Muñoz, K., Vega, M., Rios, G. et al. Mycotoxin production by different ochratoxigenic Aspergillus and Penicillium species on coffee- and wheat-based media. Mycotoxin Res 27, 239–247 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12550-011-0100-0

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