@inproceedings{01H2DPDFK2BAWYTYPT1PJ9GK27,
  abstract     = {{In many countries, the consumption of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) fruits is intertwined with the societal, cultural, and religious customs and traditions of the people. Several countries, including Algeria, rely on the cultivation of date palms as a crucial component of their economy. In general, the fruits are marketed as fresh and/or dried fruits for direct consumption and they are also intensively incorporated into many food industries. Toxigenic fungi, particularly aflatoxigenic Aspergilli, have been associated with dates and date by-products [1, 2]. This contamination represents a non-negligible source of human (co-)exposure to mycotoxins [3]. Over the years, several strategies have been proposed to control the toxigenic fungi and their mycotoxins. However, biological control is often the preferred strategy as it is regarded as an environmentally-friendly approach.

The objective of the current project is to study the fungal contamination of date palm fruit samples collected from the southern region of Algeria. Additionally, the work aims to investigate the potential of some essential oils extracted from Algerian endemic plants such as Artemisia judaica, Artemisia herba alba, Artemisia absinthium, and Artemisia campestris for controlling the growth of toxigenic fungi and decreasing mycotoxin levels. In total, several samples of date fruits were randomly collected from date palm farms (n=55), and markets (n=55). Fungal isolation was carried out using two different plating methods (serial dilution and direct plating), while fungal identification was done at genus level using taxonomic keys followed by molecular and chemical identification approaches. The extraction of essential oils from the above mentioned plant species was performed by steam distillation method and their chemical compositions were revealed using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The potential antifungal activity against filamentous fungal strains isolated from date fruits were investigated using different in vitro tests. During the 44th Mycotoxin-Workshop, an overview of the research project, in combination with the obtained preliminary data, will be presented.

References
[1] Shenasi, M., Aidoo, K. E., & Candlish, A. A. G. (2002). Microflora of date fruits and production of aflatoxins at various stages of maturation. International Journal of Food Microbiology, 79(1‑2), 113‑119. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0168-1605(02)00185-X
[2] Nikolchina, I., & Rodrigues, P. (2021). A preliminary study on mycobiota and ochratoxin a contamination in commercial palm dates (Phoenix dactylifera). Mycotoxin Research, 37(3), 215‑220. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12550-021-00432-0
[3] Abdallah, M. F., Krska, R., & Sulyok, M. (2018). Occurrence of Ochratoxins, Fumonisin B 2 , Aflatoxins (B 1 and B 2 ), and Other Secondary Fungal Metabolites in Dried Date Palm Fruits from Egypt : A Mini-Survey: Multimycotoxins occurrence in dates from Egypt…. Journal of Food Science, 83(2), 559‑564. https://doi.org/10.1111/1750-3841.14046}},
  articleno    = {{P16}},
  author       = {{Ghorbal, Imene and Salah, Sara Redouane and Abdallah, Mohamed Fathi and Messai, Ahmed}},
  booktitle    = {{Mycotoxin Workshop, 44th, Abstracts}},
  keywords     = {{Biological control,mycotoxins,fungi,date palm,Algeria}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  location     = {{Celle (Hannover), Germany}},
  pages        = {{P16:84--P16:84}},
  publisher    = {{Society for Mycotoxin Research}},
  title        = {{Investigating the efficacy of indigenous essential oils as a biocontrol agent for Safe Consumption of Algerian Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera) Fruits}},
  url          = {{https://www.mycotoxin.de/previous-workshops}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}