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Article

Occurrence and Characterization of Fungi and Mycotoxins in Contaminated Medicinal Herbs

by
Ling Chen
,
Weipeng Guo
,
Yuqing Zheng
,
Jinzhen Zhou
,
Tingting Liu
,
Wei Chen
,
Daqing Liang
,
Meiping Zhao
,
Yudan Zhu
,
Qingping Wu
and
Jumei Zhang
*
State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Culture Collection and Application, Guangdong Open Laboratory of Applied Microbiology, Guangdong Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510070, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Toxins 2020, 12(1), 30; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins12010030
Submission received: 1 November 2019 / Revised: 24 December 2019 / Accepted: 26 December 2019 / Published: 3 January 2020
(This article belongs to the Section Mycotoxins)
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Abstract

Traditional medicinal herbs are widely used and may be contaminated with mycotoxigenic fungi during cultivation, harvesting, and storage, causing spoilage and mycotoxin production. We evaluated the predominant mycoflora and extent of mycotoxin contaminations in 48 contaminated samples of 13 different medicinal herbs. In total, 70.8% of herbs were slightly contaminated with aflatoxins (<5 μg kg−1). Codonopsis radix samples contained ochratoxin A (OTA) (360–515 μg kg−1), and Scutellariae radix samples contained OTA (49–231 μg kg−1) and citrinin (15–53 μg kg−1). Forty samples (83.3%) contained fungal contamination. Sixty-nine strains were characterized via morphological and molecular identification. The predominant mycoflora comprised four genera, Aspergillus spp. (26.1%), Penicillium spp. (24.6%), Rhizopus spp. (14.5%), and Trichoderma spp. (11.6%). Aflatoxins, OTA, and citrinin were detected in 37 cultures by high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Approximately 21.6% of Aspergillus and Penicillium isolates produced mycotoxins. One Penicillium polonicum strain isolated from Scutellariae radix synthesized citrinin. Multiplex PCR analysis showed that three Aspergillus flavus strains harbored aflatoxin biosynthesis genes. One Aspergillus flavus strain isolated from Amomi fructus produced AFB1 and AFB2. To the best of our knowledge, the citrinin production by Aspergillus chevalieri and Penicillium sacculum was first reported in this study, which poses a potential risk of mycotoxin contamination in medicinal herbs.
Keywords: mycoflora; medicinal herbs; mycotoxin; contamination; aflatoxins; citrinin; mycotoxigenic fungi; multiplex PCR; HPLC-MS/MS mycoflora; medicinal herbs; mycotoxin; contamination; aflatoxins; citrinin; mycotoxigenic fungi; multiplex PCR; HPLC-MS/MS

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MDPI and ACS Style

Chen, L.; Guo, W.; Zheng, Y.; Zhou, J.; Liu, T.; Chen, W.; Liang, D.; Zhao, M.; Zhu, Y.; Wu, Q.; et al. Occurrence and Characterization of Fungi and Mycotoxins in Contaminated Medicinal Herbs. Toxins 2020, 12, 30. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins12010030

AMA Style

Chen L, Guo W, Zheng Y, Zhou J, Liu T, Chen W, Liang D, Zhao M, Zhu Y, Wu Q, et al. Occurrence and Characterization of Fungi and Mycotoxins in Contaminated Medicinal Herbs. Toxins. 2020; 12(1):30. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins12010030

Chicago/Turabian Style

Chen, Ling, Weipeng Guo, Yuqing Zheng, Jinzhen Zhou, Tingting Liu, Wei Chen, Daqing Liang, Meiping Zhao, Yudan Zhu, Qingping Wu, and et al. 2020. "Occurrence and Characterization of Fungi and Mycotoxins in Contaminated Medicinal Herbs" Toxins 12, no. 1: 30. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins12010030

APA Style

Chen, L., Guo, W., Zheng, Y., Zhou, J., Liu, T., Chen, W., Liang, D., Zhao, M., Zhu, Y., Wu, Q., & Zhang, J. (2020). Occurrence and Characterization of Fungi and Mycotoxins in Contaminated Medicinal Herbs. Toxins, 12(1), 30. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins12010030

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