Metabolic behaviour of aflatoxin producing strain and non-toxigenic strain of Aspergillus flavus to different sources of nitrogen and glucose concentration.

The effect of different nitrogen sources and varying glucose concentration on aflatoxin production by a toxigenic and non-toxigenic strain of Aspergillus flavus was studied. Greatest production (3.8 ppm) of aflatoxin B1 was produced in a synthetic medium when casamino acids were supplied as the nitrogen source. Optimum sugar concentration for aflatoxin B1 production ranged between 3 and 10 g/100 ml. There was no appreciable difference in the metabolic behaviour between toxigenic and non-toxigenic strains of A. flavus when dry mycelial weight, total proteins, non-protein nitrogen and reducing sugar were the criteria.