Distribution of Aflatoxins and Micro Organisms in Peanut and Sunflower Seed Products and their Potential Health Hazards

Abstract

Background: Aflatoxins are mould metabolites of Aspargillus flavus and parasiticus that contaminate foodstuffs stored in warm moist places. These toxins are hepatotoxic and produce hepatocellular carcinoma in animals and man. Objectives: To determine the presence of aflatoxins and microorganisms in ready to consume products of peanuts and sunflower seeds of an edible oil processing factory. Materials and Methods: Five hundred grams each of peanut kernels, peanut pellets, sunflower seed pellets, peanut oil and sunflower seed oil produced by a local oil extracting factory were supplied for extraction and estimation of aflatoxins and microorganisms like Salmonella, Escherichia coli (E.coli), Bacillus and Moulds. Aflatoxins B 1 , B 2 , G 1 and G 2 were extracted in chloroform and concentration was measured using silica gel columns. The quantitative estimation of these aflatoxins B 1 , B 2 , G 1 and G 2 was done by fluorescence evaluation on Thin Layer Chromatograms. Results: All test samples contained four types of aflatoxins. The highest aflatoxin values were seen in the pellets and lowest in refined oils. All samples contained higher content of aflatoxins B 1 and B 2 than G 1 and G 2 . Refined peanut oil contained much lower aflatoxin than the sunflower seed oil. This study has also identified the presence of several types of microorganisms such as Salmonella, E. coli, Bacillus and Moulds in ready to eat peanut and sunflower seed products. Conclusion: Detection of high levels of aflatoxins and microorganisms in ready to eat food stuff should be a concern for food regulatory agencies since these products are consumed daily by the common man and their cumulative effect on the body might be adding to liver cancer in the population. Policy message: Food regulatory agencies should regularly carry out thorough surveillance on food stuff. Key words: Aflatoxins, microbial counts, peanut and sunflower seed products, health hazards.