Vol. 1, Issue 2, Part A (2019)

The study investigated the effects of extracts of chloroform, methanol and ethanol of Allium sativum on the growth of species of Aspergillus fumigatus, Penicillium and Rhizopus stolonifer isolated from guinea corn. Between the minimum inhibitory concentration ranges of 20 mg / mL to 40 mg / mL the fungi were susceptible. The chloroform extract showed more inhibitory effect compared to ethanol and methanol extracts. An assay of the antifungal properties of these extracts indicated that the most resistant of all the test fungi appeared to be Aspergillus fumigatus while the most susceptible species were Penicillium. The investigation on the antifungal effect of Allium sativum on the growth of fungi isolated from Guinea corn demonstrated that Allium sativum has proven to be an effective antifungal agent against species of Aspergillus fumigatus Rhizopus stolonifer, and Penicillium. The results therefore suggests that extracts of Allium sativum may be an important preservative for Guinea corn. Phytochemical screening of extracts of Allium sativum also showed that the extracts contained saponins, tannins flavonoids, and anthraquinones.