en تخصصي Special Original article Original article <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="line-height:115%"><b><span style="line-height:115%">Background:</span></b><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="line-height:115%"> There has been an increase in public health concern over post-harvest spoilage fungi in plantain. This study aimed to explore the role of Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) from fermented foods against spoilage fungi of plantain.</span></span><span style="line-height:115%"></span></span><br> <span style="line-height:115%"><b><span style="line-height:115%">Methods:</span></b><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="line-height:115%"> Seventy-five LAB were isolated from agadagidi and ogi</span></span> <span lang="EN-GB"><span style="line-height:115%">between February and April 2021</span></span><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="line-height:115%">. Cell-Free Supernatants (CFS) of the broth cultures were obtained by centrifugation. Spoilage fungi were obtained from plantain with visible mould growth. Initial screening of the LAB isolates for antifungal activities was carried out using the agar overlay method. The agar well diffusion method was used to assay the inhibitory spectrum of the CFS. </span></span><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="line-height:115%">Data obtained for the inhibition diameters were analysed using descriptive statistics (IBM SPSS 22). </span></span><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="line-height:115%">LAB isolates with the highest antifungal activity were assessed for their safety via the DNase, gelatinase, and haemolysis tests, and were identified by 16S rRNA sequencing.</span></span><span style="line-height:115%"></span></span><br> <span style="line-height:115%"><b><span style="line-height:115%">Results:</span></b><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="line-height:115%"> Twenty-six LAB isolates exhibiting antifungal activity were obtained from the samples.<i> </i>The isolated spoilage fungi included <i>Aspergillus flavus,</i> <i>Fusarium oxysporum,</i> <i>Fusarium verticilliodes</i>, <i>Penicillium</i> sp, and<i> Rhizopus </i>sp. Nine of the 26 LAB isolates produced inhibition zones >14 mm in diameter. The CFS of isolate 5AG8 had antifungal activity against the spores of <i>A. flavus</i>, <i>F. oxysporum, </i>and <i>Penicillium sp</i>. The CFS of isolate AG1 inhibited the mycelial growth of <i>F. verticilliodes</i> and <i>Penicillium sp</i>, while the CFS of isolate OP was active against the spores of <i>A. flavus </i>and <i>Penicillium sp</i>. None of the isolates tested positive in the safety assessment tests. The isolates were identified as <i>Lactobacillus plantarum </i>OP, <i>L. plantarum </i>AG1, and<i> Lactobacillus fermentum </i>5AG8.</span></span><span style="line-height:115%"></span></span><br> <span style="line-height:115%"><b><span style="line-height:115%">Conclusion:</span></b> <span lang="EN-GB"><span style="line-height:115%">This study revealed that LAB strains from agadagidi and ogi<i> </i>are safe for use in food matrices and their metabolites can be used in the control of spoilage fungi in plantain.</span><span style="line-height:115%"></span></span></span><br> <br> &nbsp;<span style="line-height:150%"><b><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="line-height:150%">DOI:</span></span></b> <span lang="EN-GB"><span style="line-height:150%">10.18502/jfqhc.12.3.19781</span></span></span></span></span></div> Antifungal Agents, Aspergillus flavus, Fermented Foods, Lactobacillus plantarum, Penicillium, Public Health 171 182 http://jfqhc.ssu.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-1769-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 G.O. Onipede gbemisola.onipede@fuhsi.edu.ng 0000-0003-3953-6104 Yes Department of Microbiology, Federal University of Health Sciences, Ila-Orangun, Nigeria E.K. Omodara No Department of Microbiology, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria A.I. Sanni No Department of Microbiology, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria