Free and Microencapsulated Butylated Hydroxyanisole Applications as Alternative Strategies against Fungi and Insects in Peanut Destined to Different Purposes

Abstract

Peanut (Arachis hypogaea) is a world economically important crop and the production in Argentina is known worldwide for its quality overcoming 1 million tons of production. Due to the under-ground development of its fruits and the use of consecutive monoculture, the prevalence of fungal pathogen infections and their mycotoxins, continues to increase. Therefore, the harvested peanut could contain mycelia and spores of fungi, which can result in a significant decrease in grain quality during the storage. Besides, these nuts are considered to be a high-risk product for contamination with aflatoxins (AFs) since they are frequently contaminated with soil fungi, particularly Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus. The increasing knowledge of persistent residues, along with the carcinogenic and toxic effects of some synthetic fungicides, has resulted in the need to obtain alternatives for control growth of mycotoxigenic fungi. Alternatives include the aplications of the food grade antioxidant as butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) (phenolic antioxidant), free or microencapsulated, which have shown antifungal effects on stored peanuts. For this, the aim of this chapter is to summarize the results of the microencapsulation technology of BHA carried out in our laboratory from the recent years. Besides, both free and microencapsulated BHA were in situ evaluated for controlling the mycoflora present in peanut stored in different systems intended for confectionery, seed and industry. Characterization of microencapsulated BHA technic and the influence of abiotic external factors such as: i) reticulation time; ii) gelatin bloom; iii) crosslinking agent; iv) time; v) temperature and vi) water activity (aw) on the antioxidant microencapsulation efficiency and release propierties are discussed in this chapter. Antifungal effects of microencapsuletd BHA on confectionary peanuts stored in cells of different companies with and without refrigeration are analyzed. Furthermore, an analysis on how the stress factors derived from the presence of the antioxidant, synthetic fungicide and environmental variations (aW and temperature) affect the peanut seed germination power stored in different periods and companies is developed. Finally, comparisons of antifungal effects of free and microencapsulated BHA on industrial peanut outdoor stored are also covered in the present chapter.