Sharma et al. (1985) reported that low concentrations
(0–1200 ppm) of two chloroethyl phosphonic acid (CEPA)
stimulated fungal growth and drastically reduced aflatoxin
biosynthesis in A. parasiticus in laboratory culture. CEPA
concentrations at 1400–1600 ppm reduced both fungal
growth and aflatoxin biosynthesis while CEPA at
3200 ppm eliminated aflatoxin accumulation in either
stationary or shake cultures of A. parasiticus. Although
CEPA frequently is used as an ethylene-generating
compound, the authors did not measure ethylene concentration
in the culture medium and did not confirm that ethylene was the active compound in these studies.
However, this initial study prompted us to examine the
potential use of ethylene to reduce aflatoxin contamination
of susceptible food and feed crops during storage or in the
field because it is food safe, inexpensive to generate, and
has a long history of application in agriculture (Roze et al.,
2004).