Biological control of Aspergillus flavus growth and subsequent aflatoxin B1 production in sorghum grains

Sorghum grains suffer from severe infection and colonization by several toxigenic fungi and subsequent production of mycotoxins, posing a threat to human and animal health. Among all the mycotoxins, aflatoxins represent one of the most important toxicants considered as important constraint of grain quality and sorghum production. Various physical and chemical methods of reducing mycotoxins have been recommended, but only few have been accepted for practical use. Biodegradation of aflatoxins, deploying microbes is an attractive strategy for mycotoxin management. This study, therefore explored the potential use of certain biocontrol agents for the reduction of growth of toxigenic Aspergillus flavus and subsequent aflatoxin B-1 (AFB1) production in sorghum. Among all the biocontrol agents tested, culture filtrate of Rhodococcus erythropolis completely inhibited the A. flavus growth and AFB1 production at 25 mlkg(-1) concentration. The other biocontrol agents, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas fluorescens and Trichoderma viride showed 72, 74 and 65% inhibition of A. flavus growth whereas 54, 62.6 and 39% reduction of AFB1 at 200 mlkg(-1) of sorghum grains, respectively.