| Description: |
Mycotoxins are toxic secondary metabolites produced by certain filamentous fungi, posing serious health risks to humans and animals through contaminated food products. This study aimed to isolate and identify fungi and detect mycotoxins from beans, maize, and peanuts in Cuanza Sul, Angola. Ten samples of each commodity were collected in 2023, and twenty-five kernels from each sample were surface-disinfected and plated on Dichloran Rose-Bengal Chloramphenicol (DRBC) medium. Fungal colonies were isolated after 5 to 7 days at 25 ºC. DNA extraction was carried out to proceed with molecular identification through sequencing of the ITS region. Preliminary results revealed diverse fungal communities across all food commodities, including presumptive species from the Aspergillus and Penicillium generaboth commonly associated with mycotoxin production (Greeff-Laubscher et. al., 2019). Fungal contamination was observed in 75.2% of maize kernels (188/250), 64.4% of peanut kernels (161/250), and 36.4% of bean kernels (91/250), based on the subsamples where counts were completed. A total of 97 fungal isolates were obtained from maize, 162 from peanuts, and 81 from beans. These isolates are currently being preserved and prepared for molecular identification and future assessment of their toxigenic potential. These findings highlight a high incidence of fungal contamination in staple foods from Cuanza do Sul, contributing to a better understanding of food safety challenges in Angola and other tropical regions. ; Bruna Sepúlvela was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology(FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UIDB/04469/2020 unit, and by LABBELS – Associate Laboratory in Biotechnology, Bioen gineering and Microelectromechanical Systems, LA/P/0029/2020 ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion |