Abstract

MORENO-LIMON, S. et al. Antifungal effects of capsaicin and chile piquin extracts (Capsicum annuum l. var. aviculare) in vitro on Aspergillus flavus growth. Polibotánica [online]. 2012, n.34, pp.191-204. ISSN 1405-2768.

The piquin chile as a component of submontane shrubland in northeastern Mexico, is an annual plant that also grows and develops across the tropics. In addition to its culinary uses the fruit has been reported as having compounds with stimulant, choleretic and digestive activity, helpful in the treatment of cardiovascular and chronic degenerative diseases and able to reduce the risk of cancer or act as a bactericide. Given this diversity of effects and seeking alternatives to help improve the quality of agricultural production, the biological activity of ethanol extracts of piquin chile fruits (Capsicum annuum var. aviculare L.) and of capsaicin on Aspergillusflavus growth was evaluated, using two techniques: 1) In the well in plate diffusion technique, 20 μL of capsaicin or extract at a concentration of 200, 400, 600, 800 and 1000 ppm were poured into wells made in potato dextrose agar (PDA) plates previously inoculated with A. flavus spores. 2) For the dilution technique, 2 mL of capsaicin or fruit extract in the concentrations mentioned were added to PDA making a homogeneous mixture before solidification. The activity of the treatments was reflected by the formation of an inhibition halo and the radial growth of fungus in each technique, respectively. The results showed that both capsaicin and piquin chile extracts significantly inhibited radial growths of A. flavus, these results are statistically equal to those obtained by applying the commercial fungicide captan.

Keywords : fungal pathogens; postharvest; capsaicin; piquín chile.