Juan Alejandro Neira-Mosquera1,2,3, Sungey Naynee Sánchez-Llaguno2, Jhonnatan Placido Aldas-Morejon4, Karol Yannela Revilla-Escobar4,5*, Mary Carmen Morán-Estrella2 and Madeleine Josenkha Nogales-Delgado2
1Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas-ESPE, Departamento de Ciencias de la Vida y la Agricultura. Av. General Rumiñahui s/n Sangolquí, Ecuador 2Facultad de Ciencias de la Industria y Producción, Universidad Técnica Estatal de Quevedo, Quevedo, Ecuador 3Universidad Pública de Sango Domingo de los Tsachilas - UPSDT, km 28, vía Quevedo, Santo Domingo, Ecuador 4Facultad de Ciencias Aplicadas a la Industria, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, San Rafael, M5600APG, Argentina 5Carrera de Agroindustrias, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, SEDE Esmeraldas, Esmeraldas, Ecuador
*Correspondence: jhonnatan.aldas@pg.uleam.edu.ec
Aflatoxins produced by fungi such as Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus, are carcinogenic substances that can contaminate food, posing significant health risks and economic losses. This study aimed to evaluate aflatoxin content and bromatological quality in two peanut varieties (INIAP-381 Rosita and INIAP-382 Caramelo), considering different sample conditions (fresh, dry, and in pod) and storage systems (bulk and vacuum) using a multifactorial ABC design. The results demonstrate that vacuum storage effectively suppresses aflatoxin formation. The INIAP-382 Caramelo variety exhibited lower aflatoxin concentrations, ranging from 1.77ppb in fresh samples to 2.22ppb in dry samples. In contrast, the INIAP-381 Rosita variety had aflatoxin concentrations of 2.30ppb and 2.16ppb under the same conditions. Bromatological analysis revealed moisture content ranging from 1.95 to 11.15%, pH between 6.02 and 6.68, an average acidity of 0.02%, ash content from 2.11 to 3.01%, and essential nutrients including protein (7.50-9.75%), fat (21.50-43.00%), and fiber (21.50-32.49%). These findings demonstrated that the combination of peanut variety, sample condition, and storage system significantly influences aflatoxin concentration and overall peanut quality.