THE EFFECTIVENESS OF IRON OXIDE NANOPARTICLES EXTRACT Zingiber zerumbet IN INHIBITING THE GROWTH OF Aspergillus niger IN VITRO
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Abstract
Indonesia has a tropical climate with high temperatures and humidity that supports the development of pathogenic fungi, such as Aspergillus niger, which causes a decline in the quality of post-harvest agricultural products. The use of chemical fungicides to control fungi has various limitations, so environmentally friendly control options are needed. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of iron oxide nanoparticles extracted from rough rhizomes of Zingiber zerumbet in inhibiting the growth of Aspergillus niger in vitro. This study was conducted using an experimental method with a completely randomised design with treatments of iron oxide nanoparticle concentrations of 30 ppm, 300 ppm, 3000 ppm, a positive control of 300 ppm benlate fungicide, 1% Zingiber Zerumbet extract, and a negative control without treatment. The parameters observed included the percentage of growth inhibition of colonies and conidia production of Aspergillus niger. The results showed that the iron oxide nanoparticle treatment and crude Zingiber Zerumbet rhizome extract treatment were not able to inhibit the growth of colonies and conidia production of Aspergillus niger, although, descriptively, there were variations in growth response in each treatment and observation time. Based on this study, it can be concluded that iron oxide nanoparticles from the crude extract of Zingiber Zerumbet rhizome did not show significant effectiveness as an antifungal against Aspergillus niger, but have the potential for further development through optimisation of concentration and testing conditions.