Musa paradisiaca var sapientum fruit peel for suppression of aflatoxin producing Aspergillus spp. on groundnuts

The study represents the antifungal efficacy of aqueous extract of Musa paradisiaca fruit peel powder against aflatoxin producing strains of Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus. Fungal species were isolated from infected maize and groundnut seeds and antifungal screening was done by poisoned food technique. Inhibitory action of the extract was concentration dependent. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was found to be 20 mg/ml for A. flavus and 17.5 mg/ml for A. parasiticus. 35mg/ml concentration of extract was fungicidal for both test fungi whereas 45 mg/ml of extract prevented infection of stored ground nut seeds in vivo from both test fungi. Germination of peanuts was unaffected by the application of extract which suggest that the extract was non phytotoxic. The results obtained in this study clearly suggest the possible use of fruit peel powder as ecofriendly herbal fungitoxicant to prevent biodeterioration of stored grains.