Fungal Load, Coliform and Aflatoxins in Wheat Flour of Lahore Metropolitan City

Authors

  • Hafiz Muhammad Usman Siddiq University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore
  • Arfan Ahmad Institute of Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore.
  • Aftab Ahmad Anjum Institute of Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore.
  • Mamoona Chaudhary Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore
  • Irshad Hussain

Keywords:

Wheat flour, fungal load, coliform count, Aflatoxins

Abstract

In Pakistan, wheat flour is mostly utilized for making flat breads locally called chapattis. Other uses of wheat flour are in bakery products manufacturing. It is an important constituent of daily diet of people. Shelf life of wheat flour is one of the most important factors for its quality determination. Wheat flour is often tainted with pathogenic fungal species and their toxic secondary metabolites called Mycotoxins. The present study was designed to make a comparative analysis of Microbiological quality (fungal load and total coliform count) and detection of aflatoxins in raw and branded whole wheat flour samples of Lahore Metropolitan city. Total 100 samples were collected for determination of fungal load, coliform and aflatoxins. The Standardized methods were applied to count the colony forming units of fungal species and total coliform bacteria respectively. The results indicated both branded and raw whole wheat flour groups were of good quality for human consumption. However, the microbiological quality of branded whole flour was better than raw whole wheat flour. There was a significant difference (P<0.05) in fungal load of raw and branded whole wheat flour. Similarly, coliform bacteria were only cultured form the samples of raw flour. In the last stage of study, aflatoxins level was analysed by using a commercially available kit. All the samples of both raw and branded whole wheat flours were negative for aflatoxins detection. The overall quality of raw and branded whole wheat flours in Lahore city is satisfactory for consumers.

Published

2020-12-31

How to Cite

Siddiq, H. M. U., Arfan Ahmad, Aftab Ahmad Anjum, Mamoona Chaudhary, & Irshad Hussain. (2020). Fungal Load, Coliform and Aflatoxins in Wheat Flour of Lahore Metropolitan City. Abasyn Journal of Life Sciences, 3(Issue 2). Retrieved from http://ajlifesciences.com/ojs/index.php/ajls/article/view/82

Issue

Section

Full Length Research Article

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