Description

Abstract: Products from five medicinal/culinary plants–Citrus aurantifolia fruit peel oil, Cymbopogon nardus leaf oil, Ocimum gratissimum leaf powder, Xylopia aethiopica fruit powder, and Syzigium aromaticum clove powder–were tested for activity against fungal colonization of stored peanut. The natural microflora of kernels were supplemented with a norsolorinic acid (NOR) mutant of Aspergillus parasiticus before treatment with the various plant products. Treated kernels were stored at 5.7% moisture Content in mini-polyethylene bags for 11 mo. Of the five plant products, the Syzigium clove powder proved to be most efficacious. After 4 mo storage, a low colony-forming unit (CFU) value of 0.601 log units of NOR A. parasiticus was recorded per gram of kernels treated with the powder. Significantly higher CFU values (P ? 0.05) were associated with kernels that received no plant product (3.099 log units) and kernels treated with the other plant products(1.459