POPULASI JAMUR MIKOTOKSIGENIK DAN KANDUNGAN AFLATOKSIN PADA BEBERAPA CONTOH BIJI KAKAO (Theobroma cacao L) ASAL SULAWESI TENGAH

Abstract

The WHO and FAO regulation on the maximum level of 30 ppb aflatoxin in foods and feeds has prompted consumer-countries from Europe and USA to put pressure on producer-countries of cacao seeds to fulfill this requirement.  It is reported that aflatoxin contamination produced by fungi Aspergillus flavus in cacao seeds can occur in crops, in the field, at harvest, during postharvest operations and in storage.  This study aims at identifying mycotoxigenic fungi and their population, the content of aflatoxin in cacao seed at farmer, collecting-traders and exporter levels, and correlation between fungi population with aflatoxin content on cacao seed from Central Sulawesi. At a preliminary study, survey was conducted to determine samples of farmers, collecting-traders and exporters, and samples of cacao seeds (purposive sampling) in Donggala, Parigi Moutong, Poso, Morowali, Buol and Toli-toli districts as well as in Palu city.  Six samples of cacao seed were taken from every district and city (1 kg per seed sample).  Fungi from cacao seeds were isolated using a planting method with Potato Dextrosa Agar (PDA) as a media. The examination for other A. flavus and mycotoxigenic population was determined microbiologically, whereas aflatoxin was determined using HPTLC (High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography).  The results of the study showed that the number of fungi species (9 species), the density of fungi population (1.4 x 10⁹) and the aflatoxin content (104.798 ppb) in dried cacao seed trading at the farmer level were higher than that of at the collecting-trader level          (6 species; 6.5 x 10⁷ population density; 61.305 ppb aflatoxin content) and at the exporter level                 (5 species; 6.0 x 10⁵ population density; 47.737 ppb aflatoxin content).  The fungi found at the ecology of cacao seed were Aspergillus flavus, A. fumigatus, A. niger, Peniciliium sp, Fusarium sp, Mucor sp, Rhizopus sp, Geotrichum sp, Verticillium sp, Trichoderma viride dan Trichoderma sp.