Assessment of aflatoxin in groundnut under storage condition of Ethiopia

Abstract

The assessment was conducted in major groundnut-producing areas of Ethiopia. The study was to detect important mycotoxins and to estimate post-harvest losses in stored groundnut due to associated mycotoxigenic fungi. Structured questionnaires were used to obtain primary and other information from farmers, retailers and wholesalers. The samples were detected using agar plate and HPLC methods. The data were analyzed using SPSS statistical software (version: 26.0) and the mean was separated by LSD.  86% of the interviewed farmers shelled groundnut pods with their hands and 98% of them used sack storage. According to the laboratory results of agar plate methods, five fungi genera, Aspergillus, Fusarium, Penicillium, Rhizopus & Trichoderma were identified from the stored groundnut samples. Among these, Aspergillus species had the most dominant 75% incidence after four months of storage. Four aflatoxin types, AfB1, AfB2, AfG1 and AfG2, were detected and quantified in all the surveyed areas. The concentration of AFB1 was high at 386.10 and 360.96μg/kg was recorded in the samples collected from Limu Kosa and Limu Shayi areas of the Jimma zone with higher total aflatoxin of 542.25μg/kg. At the initial stage of the storage periods, the concentration of aflatoxin in the samples was minimal, but it increased as the storage periods increased in different locations. Therefore, it was concluded that the storage periods and methods, harvesting time, moisture content, locational differences and farmer’s ways of shelling, drying and storing favour the development of aflatoxins in the storage.