Kojic Acid and its Potential Inhibitory Against Bread Mold

Abstract

Abstract Several natural compounds have recently been discovered to be effective in the management of numerous pathogenic microorganisms. Kojic acid is an example of such a compound (KA). It is a byproduct of the fungal fermentation process that is commonly used in the production of food and cosmetics. The well diffusion method was used to determine the antifungal activity of various KA concentrations, viz., 20, 25, and 30 mg/μl, against the bread mold. On the seventh day of incubation, an evaluation was performed. The factors detected were the inhibition of bread mold growth with an enumerated size of diameter mycelial growth. The study’s findings showed that KA inhibited mycelial growth, with the highest inhibition found at 25 and 30 mg/μl concentrations, with no significant difference between the two treatments. Based on these findings, the best concentration (30 mg/μl) was tested further using the well diffusion technique. A concentration of 30 mg/μl was found to be more effective than the others in preventing fungal growth. This concentration produced inhibitory zones with an average diameter of 23.3 mm, which was larger than the other concentrations. The results of this study showed that KA has a potential impact for preserving bread from mold.