Optimization of Storage Conditions of the Medicinal Herb against the Sterigmatocystin Producer Using Response Surface Methodology.

The root of is a commonly used herb in Southern China, and also constitutes the main raw material of Canton herbal tea. is readily contaminated by mildew because of rich nutrients. producing sterigmatocystin is one of the most common molds that contaminate foodstuffs and medicinal herbs. Previous study on the evaluation of fungal contamination on samples of revealed that was the dominant contaminant. In this study, experiments based on response surface methodology combined with central composite design were carried out to determine the optimal storage conditions of to minimize the contamination of sterigmatocystin. The herb, manually innoculated with was stored under different temperatures (20⁻40 °C) and humidity (80⁻95%) for seven days. The effects of temperature and humidity were evaluated using total saponin, polysaccharide and the sterigmatocystin levels as quality indexes. The results showed that grew quickly and produced large amounts of sterigmatocystin on , at humidity ranging from 85% to 90% and temperatures above 26 °C. Meanwhile, total saponin and polysaccharide amounts were reduced significantly. These findings suggested that samples should be stored in an environment with humidity and temperature below 85% and 26 °C, respectively, to reduce growth and sterigmatocystin production.