Nano-based formulation of Acarous calamus rhizome extract and its efficacy on Aspergillus flavus

Abstract

Aflatoxin is a poisonous contaminant of food crops from Aspergillus fungi. It causes not only deleterious issues in humans and livestock, but also inflicts severe economic loss in agriculture production by the quality deterioration of more than 25% of food crops (Tinham, 2018). Aflatoxin is the secondary metabolites of Aspergillus species, especially A. flavus and A. parasiticus (Perrone et al., 2007). The use of fungicides to control this fungus may not be environmentally or socially acceptable due to their harmful nature. Plant extracts and secondary metabolites of microorganisms, on the other hand, have been demonstrated in multiple studies to effectively limit Aspergillus fungus growth, reproduction, and aflatoxin formation when treated (Reddy et al., 2009). The problem of plant extracts is less efficient. Nanotechnology opened an era to synthesize the Nano molecules of plant extracts using silver, copper, gold and clay. Nano molecules increase the efficacy of the active ingredients present in the plant extract through particle size reduction as well as increase surface area to volume ratio by altering the physical and chemical properties of the active ingredients (Kathiravan et al., 2015). Nano-based technologies are eco-friendly and safe but, have their own advantages and disadvantages too. The main objective of this study was to synthesise silver nanoparticles from medicinal plants with antifungal capabilities against Aspergillus and analyse their efficacy using an in vitro assay.