Antifungal Activity of Metabolites from the Marine Sponges Amphimedon sp and Monanchora arbuscula against Aspergillus flavus Strains Isolated from Peanuts (Arachis hypogaea)

Contamination of preharvest and stored peanuts (Arachis hypogaea L.) by aflatoxigenic strains of Aspergillus flavus is an important economical and food safety problem in many tropical and subtropical areas of the world. The present investigation reports the antifungal activity of a halitoxins/amphitoxins enriched extract obtained from the sponge Amphimedon sp. (HAEEAsp), and of batzelladine L isolated from the sponge Monanchora arbuscula on Aspergillus flavus isolated from stored peanuts. A PCR system directed against the ITS region and aflatoxin biosynthetic pathway genes of A. flavus was applied for identification of aflatoxin producing strains. The HAEEAsp extract and batzelladine L showed minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) in the range between 1.9 to 15.6 mu g/mL and between 1.9 to 7.8 mu g/mL, respectively. The minimal fungicide concentration (MFC) of HAEEAsp extract and batzelladine L was in the range between 3.9 to 31.3 mu g/mL and 3.9 to 15.6 mu g/mL, respectively. These results indicate that these marine alkaloids may be further explored for the development of potential lead compounds active against aflatoxigenic fungi.