Abstract
The presence of mycotoxigenic fungi and mycotoxins in food and feed commodities causes adverse health effects on both animals and humans. Herbal plant components remain an untapped reservoir for active compounds (phytochemicals) with properties that can potentially reduce the effects associated with animal exposure to mycotoxins. This is mainly through targeting the prevention of fungal crop infestation by screening for antifungal plant components and those that enable the reduction of mycotoxin-induced oxidative stress via antioxidant activity. Thus, the study reported herein evaluated the potential application of Mentha longifolia, Leonotis leonurus and Piptadeniastrium africanum plant extracts for reducing animal exposure to mycotoxins and associated adverse effects.
Sequential solvent extraction using hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate and methanol was applied in the extraction of crude extracts from each of the three dried powdered plant materials. The highest % extraction yields were obtained using methanol as extracting solvent, which confirmed the presence of more polar than non-polar components in each plant material. The phytochemistries of the extracts were evaluated using thin layer chromatography (TLC), ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and 2 dimensional time of flight mass spectroscopy gas chromatography (2D GCxGC-TOF/MS). The UV-Vis confirmed the presence of phenolic compounds such as tannins, polyphenols, quinones, phenolic acids and their derivatives. These were seen as FT-IR peaks with functional groups bond/group frequencies of phenolic acids and their derivatives at 3411.66, 3411.5, and 3314.92 cm-1.
Amongst the compounds identified by GCxGC-TOF/MS in each plant extract, 6 were selected on the basis of either one or more of the pharmacological properties, i.e., antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antimicrobial and antifungal activity. They are á-pinene, I-menthone, apocynin, naphthalene, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8a, hexahydro-4, 7-dimethyl-1(1-methylethyl), (1Scis), camphene, and à-terpineol from M. longifolia. 1-methyl-pyrrolidine-2-carboxylic acid, 5-hydroxypipecolic acid, cinnamaldehyde, (E)-, 2, 4-dihydroxy-2, 5-dimethyl-3(2H)-furan-3-one, 2-caren-10-al, and 2H-pyran-2, 6(3H)-dione from L. leonurus. The 6 compounds selected from the P. africanum...
M.Tech. (Biotechnology)