Presentation (CTI)

OBJECTIVES: Synthetic fungicides applied in agriculture are effective in reducing post-harvest fungal mortality during the transport and storage of agricultural products. Imazalil, thiabendazole and pyrimethanil are often used for post-harvest control. Consumers are also exposed to fungicides that may have adverse health effects with residues detectable and measurable in fruit peel and pulp. This study aimed to evaluate the mutagenic effects of the mentioned fungicides.
METHODS: We applied Salmonella Ames mutagenicity test to detect reverse mutation. This method is designed to test the genetic damage of a chemical. The Salmonella typhimurium TA 98 strain was used to detect frameshift mutation, while the TA 100 strain was considered adequate for base-pair mutation analysis. The strains were treated with fungicides; and also with a lemon oil and fungicide mixture. The aim was to investigate the extent of genotoxicological effects of fungicides with and without lemon oil. The data considered singificant if p<0.05.
RESULTS: Base-pair mutations (p=0.001) and frameshift mutations (p=0.005 and p=0.002) were found to be caused by imazalil at both dosages. Base-pair mutation was observed after the treatment of 15 μg/plate of pyrimethanil and 30 μg/plate of thiabendazole. Fewer mutations were found with the addition of lemon oil in proportion to the number of colonies. There was only one case of mutation in the strains containing lemon oil and that was with thiabendazole (p=0.017). Lemon oil may reduce the effects of fungicides. Thiabendazole resulted the highest number of colonies and mutations. Mixtures of the fungicides did not show any mutations (p>0.05).
CONCLUSIONS: The results may confirm the importance of further research to gain more in-depth knowledge about fungicide residues, given the key significance of food safety for consumers. There has been a growing trend for introducing alternative bio-based agricultural practices and applying bio-fungicides.