+44 330 818 7254Philippe Sessou, Souaïbou Farougou*, Sandrine Kaneho, Sébastien Djenontin, Guy Alain Alitonou et al
The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Cymbopogon citratus essential oil against spoilage and pathogens moulds isolated from wagashi. For this purpose, mycelial growth Inhibition, minimal inhibitory concentration and minimal fungicidal concentration of the oil on these strains were determined by agar diffusion method in culture medium. The antifungal activity in cheese wagashi of this oil based on the highest MIC value against the resistant moulds was also tested. The chemical composition of the essential oil hydrodistillated and analyzed by GC-FID and GC-MS showed geranial (44.5%) and neral (31.5%) as major compounds. The evaluation of antifungal activity revealed that lemongrass oil possessed fungicidal activity against Scopulariopsis brevicaulis at 400 mg/L, Fusarium poae at 800 mg/L, Aspergillus (niger and terreus) and Fusarium verticillioides at 1000 mg/L in culture medium. The addition of lemongrass oil to wagashi mixture with moulds’ spores exerted high sporale reduction rate on Penicillium citrinum and Aspergillus flavus which are potential producers respectively of the most important and harmful mycotoxins, citrinin and aflatoxin M1 encountered in dairy products especially cheese. Results obtained indicate the possibility of exploiting lemongrass oil to preserve wagashi against moulds contamination and probably mycotoxins inhibition during wagashi production and storage.
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