Synergistic effect of Pongamia pinnata bark and Tamarindus indica fruit extract against aflatoxin producing fungi i.e. Aspergillus jlavus

Abstract

Aflatoxin is  the  most  toxic  of  many  naturally  occuring toxins produced by  fungi. Aspergillus flavus and  Aspergit­ lus parasiticus are  the  major casual  organisms. These co-exist and   grow on  almost  all  crops. Pongamia  pinnata (Karanj) and  Tamarindus indica  (Imli) and  other tree  species producing non  edible  oil  were  screened  for their. possible   antifungal activity. Methanolic fraction   were assayed to  control the  fungi   and    significant  reduction in  fungus growth  was  observed when applied synergistically than the individual  plant   extract.It  was found that Combination of both   extract were    more effective  than   the   individual extract  when   tested alone  i.e  62%' inhibition  of  fungal growth  as  comapared to  Pongamia  bark   alone (33.20%) and   Tamarindus indica  alone (34.12%).