Isolation and Identification of Fungi Associated with Certain Imported Nuts in Al-Qubbah City, Libya

Abstract

Although numerous bioactive substances with established health advantages, including vitamins, phenolic compounds, and tocopherols, can be found in nuts, they can also be a source of various aflatoxins due to fungal contamination. This investigation's goal was to identify and classify the fungi in various nuts imported into local markets in Libya; the nuts included walnuts, almonds, peanuts, and cashews. The study's experimental analyses were conducted in the Botany Department's lab, Faculty of Science at Derna University (Al-Qubbah), during January 2025. Isolation and identification results showed widespread fungal contamination in the oilseed samples (four types of nuts) under study. The results included the presence of six pathogenic fungi in all samples: Rhizopus sp., Penicillium chrysogenum, Penicillium glabrum, Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus parasiticus, and Aspergillus niger, but in varying proportions. The maximum number of fungal isolates of contamination recorded by Rhizopus spp. was the most frequently occurring fungus, accounting for 95% of the samples, while A. alternata was the least frequent occurring, representing only 10% of the samples.