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Thermo Scientific™ AFPA Base (Dehydrated)
Description
Isolate and enumerate Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus with this medium.
Isolate and enumerate Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus with Thermo Scientific™ Oxoid™ AFPA Base (Dehydrated). Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus are fungi that can potentially produce highly dangerous toxic residues known as aflatoxins. AFPA Base is based on the formulation of Pitt, Hocking, and Glenn1. It is recommended for the rapid detection and enumeration of these two species of Aspergillus, which are potential aflatoxin producers.
Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus are fungi that can potentially produce highly dangerous toxic residues known as aflatoxins. They especially affect oilseeds, edible nuts, and cereals in subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world due to inadequate storage conditions.
The toxins are particularly carcinogenic in humans and eating contaminated food may result in liver cancer, among other diseases. Liver cancer takes time to develop but the aflatoxins also act as an immuno-suppressant so that affected individuals become susceptible to a wide range of diseases. Livestock are also at risk and poultry are particularly susceptible: over 200,000 chickens died in 1994, in Andhra Pradesh, India, after eating contaminated feeds. Cattle are not so susceptible but if they are fed on contaminated feed, the toxin may pass into the milk.
Besides endangering human health, aflatoxin contamination seriously affects the export potential of high-value commodity crops, such as edible nuts (groundnut, pistachio, cashew, and almond) and spices (turmeric and chilies), which could provide an important source of income for farmers in the semi-arid tropics. Diagnosing, or even preventing, aflatoxin contamination will enable subsistence farmers to benefit from increased trade. It will also contribute to an improvement in the general health of people, often the poor, who consume contaminated foods.
The FDA has established specific guidelines on acceptable levels of aflatoxins in human food and animal feed by establishing action levels that allow for the removal of contaminated lots from the food chain. The action level for human food is 20ppb total aflatoxins, with the exception of milk which has an action level of 0.5ppb for aflatoxin M1. The action level for most feeds is also 20ppb. However, it is very difficult to accurately estimate aflatoxin concentration in a large quantity of material because of the variability associated with testing procedures; hence, the true aflatoxin concentration in a lot cannot be determined with 100% certainty.
AFPA Base is based on the formulation of Pitt, Hocking, and Glenn2. It is recommended for the rapid detection and enumeration of these two species of Aspergillus, which are potential aflatoxin producers. AFPA Base is a modification of Aspergillus Differential Medium3 and shows the following advantages over this and other mycological media.
- Improved color production on the reverse of the plate due to the optimal concentration of more soluble iron salt and the addition of yeast extract. Colonies of Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus develop an intense yellow/orange coloration on the reverse of the colonies, and this is a differential characteristic for these species.
- Improved growth rate of Aspergillus flavus due to the optimal balance of peptone and yeast extract.
- Improved inhibition of bacteria and rapidly growing fungi due to a mixture of dichloran and chloramphenicol.
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Specifications
Specifications
| Description | AFPA Base; 500g |
| Form | Powder |
| Product Type | Dehydrated Culture Media |
| Quantity | 500 g |
| Yield | For 11.0L medium |
For Laboratory Use Only
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