Background: Contamination of food or the environment by fungi, especially those resistant to conventional fungicides or drugs, represents a hazard to human health. The objective of this study is to identify safe, natural antifungal agents that can remove fungal pathogens or contaminants rapidly from food and / or environmental sources.
Results: Fifteen antifungal compounds (nine benzo derivatives as candidates; six conventional fungicides as references) were investigated. Three benzo analogs, namely octyl gallate (OG), trans-cinnamaldehyde (CA), and 2-hydroxy-5-methoxybenzaldehyde (2H5M), at 1 g L-1 (3.54 mmol), 1 mL L-1 (7.21 mmol), 1 mL L-1 (5.39 mmol), respectively, achieved ≥99.9% fungal death after 0.5, 2.5 or 24 h of treatments, respectively, in in vitro phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) bioassay. However, when OG, CA, and 2H5M were examined in commercial food matrices, organic apple, or grape juices, only CA maintained a similar level of antifungal activity, compared with a PBS bioassay. trans-Cinnamaldehyde showed higher antifungal activity at pH 3.5, equivalent to that of commercial fruit juices, than at pH 5.6. In soil sample tests, the application of 1 mL L-1 (7.21 mmol) CA to conventional maize / tomato soil samples (pH 6.8) for 2.5 h resulted in ≥99.9% fungal death, indicating CA could also eliminate fungal contaminants in soil. While the conventional fungicide thiabendazole exerted antifungal activity comparable to CA, thiabendazole enhanced the production of carcinogenic aflatoxins by Aspergillus flavus, an undesirable side effect.
Conclusion: trans-Cinnamaldehyde could be developed as a potent antifungal agent in food processing or soil sanitation by reducing the time / cost necessary for fungal removal. Published 2020. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.
Keywords: antifungal; benzo analogs; food spoilage; mycotoxins; rapid elimination; soil sanitation.
Published 2020. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.