Contamination of Dried Figs with Fungi and Aflatoxigenic Potential of Some Isolates of Aspergillus Section Flavi

Thirty samples of dried figs were collected from local shops at Duhok governorate, Kurdistan region of Iraq during 2012-2013 and surveyed for their fungal contamination. Thirty one species assigned to 14 genera were isolated on DRBC medium. Aspergillus was represented by 12 species and showed the widest diversity among all recorded genera. Penicillium was second in the number of species and was represented by five species. Three teleomorphic ascomycetes namely, Emericella nidulans, E.qudrilineata and Eurotium amstelodami were also detected. A,niger, A.flavus, A.carbonarius and A.parasiticus were the most frequent species. Aflatoxigenic potential of selected strains of A.flavus and A.parasiticus were secreened for their aflatoxigenic potential by ELISA technique. Aflatoxin potential detected in culture for A.parasiticus isolates was ranging between 81.0 to 355 ppb, whereas, the level of aflatoxin production for A.flavus isolates was from 193 to 333 ppb. Keywords: Fungi, Aspergillus, aflatoxin, dried fig, Duhok, Iraq