Abstract

Commercially important natural food grade annatto dye is obtained from seeds of tropical plant Bixa orellana. Fungal contaminations of seeds adversely affect the quality of seeds. We have investigated seed mycoflora of annatto seeds obtained from standing crop of B. orellana. Significant fungal contamination was detected in analyzed seed samples. Fungi most frequently isolated and identified were Aspergillus sp., Alternaria sp., Penicillium sp.,Cladosporium sp., Fusarium sp., Rhizopus sp., Stachybotrys atra, and Syncephalastrum racemosum. This is the first report of mycoflora of annatto seeds. This study will provide knowledge of fungal incidence on annatto seeds and in future to find suitable remedy to avert the storage loss by fungi.

Key words: Annatto, Bixa orellana L., mycoflora, incidence, mycotoxins.