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The effect of Propolis on inhibition of Aspergillus parasiticus growth, aflatoxin production and expression of aflatoxin biosynthesis pathway genes

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Abstract

Background and purpose

Aflatoxins are one of the most important mycotoxins, which have been classified as Group I carcinogenic compounds by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. This investigation aimed to examine the effect of Propolis on inhibition of the Aspergillus parasiticus growth, aflatoxin production and expression of aflatoxin biosynthesis pathway genes.

Materials and methods

A standard strain of Aspergillus parasiticus (ATCC 15517) was used to perform antifungal susceptibility test, using a microdilution method in accordance with the CLSI M38-A2 guidelines. The aflatoxin concentrations in the control and treated media were determined by HPLC. Also, the quantitative changes in the level of nor-1, ver-1 and omtA genes expression in aflatoxin biosynthetic pathway were analyzed using Real-Time PCR method.

Results

The results showed that the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of propolis was 100 µg/ml. The results showed that total levels of aflatoxin decreased from 386.1 ppm to 3.01 ppm at 50 µg/ml of propolis. In addition, quantitative real-time PCR analysis showed that the level of nor-1, ver-1 and omtA genes expression was significantly decreased after treatment with propolis extract.

Conclusions

The findings reveal that propolis extract, have a significant inhibitory effect on important genes for aflatoxin biosynthesis pathway in aflatoxin production.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Applied Microbiology Research Center, Systems Biology and Poisonings Institute, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Hamideh Mahmoodzadeh Hosseini, Jafar Amani & Seyed Ali Mirhosseini

  2. Department of Pathobiology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Siavash Hamzeh Pour

  3. Department of plant biology, Higher Education Institute of Rabe-Rashid, Tabriz, Iran

    Sima Jabbarzadeh

  4. Department of Food Science and Technology, Neyshabur Branch, Islamic Azad University, Neyshabur, Iran

    Mostafa Hosseinabadi

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  1. Hamideh Mahmoodzadeh Hosseini
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  2. Siavash Hamzeh Pour
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  3. Jafar Amani
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Correspondence to Seyed Ali Mirhosseini.

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Mahmoodzadeh Hosseini, H., Hamzeh Pour, S., Amani, J. et al. The effect of Propolis on inhibition of Aspergillus parasiticus growth, aflatoxin production and expression of aflatoxin biosynthesis pathway genes. J Environ Health Sci Engineer 18, 297–302 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40201-020-00467-y

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