Mycoflora and mycotoxins of sunflower(helianthus annuus l.) Seeds in egypt 1. Sugar fungi and natural occurrence of mycotoxins

Abstract

Eighteen genera and sixty-three species, in addition to three varieties were isolated from thirty six samples of sunflower seeds collected from different places in Egypt. Aspergillus and Penicillium followed by Rhizopus and Fusarium were the most frequent genera. A. niger, A. flaws, A. jumigatus, A. terreus and P. chrysogenum were the most common species. Samples 11,4 and 8 of 36 sunflower samples were of high, moderate and low toxicity, respectively, to brine shrimp larvae and were naturally contaminated with aflatoxins (B i, 87, G i and G^ ), sterigmatocystin, ochratoxin A, zearalenone, T-2 toxin and diacetoxyscirpenol.