Isolation and Phenotypic Identification of some Molds Isolated from Peanut Pastes Sold in some Public Markets in the City of Daloa, Central-West, Côte d’Ivoire

Abstract

Molds are common contaminants in peanut pastes. Their presence can have a more or less serious effect on the health of the consumer. The general objective of this work is to evaluate the diversity of filamentous fungi producing mycotoxins in peanut paste sold in public markets in the city of Daloa. A total of fifty samples were collected from five markets for carrying out the work. Isolation was carried out on Sabouraud medium with chloramphenicol. An identification of filamentous fungi was carried out through the analysis of macroscopic and microscopic morphological characters. Of the 50 samples, ten do not contain mold with a rate of 20% and 40 contain mold with a rate of 80%. Macroscopic analysis after enumeration made it possible to identify two species of mold. These are Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus. Microscopic examination made it possible to partially confirm its two species. The presence of these species with their mycotoxin production capacities suggests that contaminated peanut paste represents a risk to the health of consumers.