PHYTOCHEMICALS EVALUATION AND ANTIOXIDANT POTENTIAL OF CYMBOPOGON CITRATUS EXTRACTS AND ITS INHIBITORY EFFECTS ON ASPERGILLUS SPECIES BIOMASS AND AFLATOXIN PRODUCTION

Abstract

Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) is a medicinal herb that could be a foundation of natural compounds with anti-radical, antifungal and anti-aflatoxigenic possessions. In this work, methanolic, ethanolic and aqueous lemongrass extracts were examined for their phytochemical content, antioxidant capacity, antifungal effect and ability to suppress aflatoxin formation. Preliminary qualitative screening detected alkaloids, saponins, tannins, flavonoids and glycosides, and the methanolic extract gave relatively stronger reactions for several of these groups. Antioxidant property was quantified with the 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) technique. At 500 µg/mL, the methanolic, ethanolic and aqueous extracts scavenged 80%, 75% and 70% of the radicals, respectively, compared with 98% for vitamin C. In the antifungal tests, biomass of Aspergillus parasiticus and Aspergillus flavus was suppressed in a concentration-dependent way. At 400 mg/mL, the extract of methanol was decreased growth by 77% and 74% in the two fungi, respectively, while the ethanolic extract gave 73% and 67% and the aqueous extract 68% and 64%. Suppression of aflatoxin production likewise rose with extract concentration. The strongest effect was seen with the methanolic extract against AFG₂ from A. parasiticus (87% at 400 mg/mL), followed by the ethanolic (83%) and aqueous (75%) extracts. Taken together, the results show that lemongrass extracts, especially the methanolic one, hold promise as antioxidant, antifungal and anti-aflatoxigenic agents.