2025/03/10 by Sudharsan Sadhasivam, Omer Barda, Varda Zakin +4 · 1 voice
Materials Science · Medicine · Environmental Science · #Nanoparticles: synthesis and applications #Medicinal Plants and Neuroprotection #Thallium and Germanium Studies
paper · doi:10.1016/j.foodres.2025.116160
openalex publication_date 2025/03/10 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/16
Fungal plant pathogens cause considerable losses in yield and quality of field crops worldwide. Under specific environmental conditions, many fungi, such as Aspergillus spp. , produce mycotoxins while colonizing their host, which accumulate in human and animal tissues, posing a serious threat to consumer health. Extensive use of fungicides in crop protection has stimulated the emergence of acquired drug resistance in some plant and human fungal pathogens. The use of metal compounds as antimicrobial agents offers an alternative strategy for managing potentially resistant toxigenic fungi and reducing the required dosage of specific drugs. We investigated the effect of zinc chloride (ZnCl 2 ) on Aspergillus flavus infection and aflatoxin biosynthesis in cereal grains (wheat and maize) and legume crops (groundnut and chickpea). Following ZnCl 2 treatment, quantitative PCR analysis showed a significant decrease in fungal DNA content in cereal grain and legume samples contaminated with A. flavus . Chitin content was dramatically reduced in A. flavus as a result of ZnCl 2 treatment, suggesting that the zinc compound acts by inhibiting the synthesis of chitin, a fungal cell-wall component. Moreover, 5 days of treatment with 10 mM ZnCl 2 reduced aflatoxin production by A. flavus in the tested crops by up to 43 %, and 20 and 40 mM ZnCl 2 showed 87.4 to 99.7 % inhibition of toxin synthesis. These findings were supported by quantitative real-time PCR analysis, showing downregulation of key genes involved in the aflatoxin-biosynthesis pathway under ZnCl 2 treatment. Our results provide evidence for antifungal and antimycotoxigenic effects of ZnCl 2 against the filamentous fungus A. flavus . Future application of these findings may enable sustainable use of the compound in agricultural settings, while reducing potential concerns over exposure to high doses of fungicides that are harmful to the environment. • Zinc chloride is an effective antifungal compound. • ZnCl 2 acts by inhibiting chitin synthesis in the fungal cell wall. • The compound demonstrated strong anti-aflatoxigenic activity in vitro and in planta.