Study on the prevention and treatment of Aspergillus flavus pollution by Melaleuca alternifolia essential oil during the storage of Polygalae Radix Decoction Pieces

In the natural environment, Aspergillus flavus often causes contamination of food, crop and Chinese medicinal materials, threatening the quality and safety of food, crop and medicinal materials and causing huge economic losses. In this study, we isolated, identified and screened the strains of A. flavus invading polygalae radix , and determined the changes of growth indexes, virulence, antioxidant system and cell membrane integrity of A. flavus under the treatment of Melaleuca alternifolia essential oil (MA-EO). Combined with the results of proteomics, the mechanism of action was clarified. In addition, this study also measured the change of active components in polygalae radix under the action of MA-EO. The results showed that MA-EO could damage cell membrane integrity, increase ROS accumulation, disrupt antioxidant system and inhibit the growth and toxicity of A. flavus . At the same time, MA-EO can significantly reduce the mildew of polygalae radix and curb the loss of active components after mildew.