Various spices such as dried fruits and food grains are prone to contamination by filamentous
fungi, such as the species Aspergillus Niger, increasing the risk of ingestion of mycotoxins by
the population. The production of biodegradable films added to extracts and essential oils can
give the same antifungal properties. Thus, this study aimed to develop biodegradable films
based on cassava starch with addition of extracts and oils of cinnamon and garlic vine and
evaluate its efficiency against the fungus Aspergillus Niger. The ethanol and aqueous extracts
were obtained by Soxlet extraction and maceration, respectively, while the oils were obtained
by hydrodistillation. To identify the major compounds of the extracts and oils, NMR and Gas
Chromatography analyzes were performed. These compounds identified were selected as
ligands before the enzyme glucose oxidase produced by the fungus for the theoretical study
through Molecular Docking. The extracts and oils were evaluated in antifungal diffusion tests
in discs and wells, respectively. The biodegradable films were prepared with extract and oils
of cinnamon and garlic vine that showed better performance in antifungal tests. All the
elaborated films were evaluated in the antifungal test by means of the technique of diffusion
in discs. In the theoretical study through Molecular Docking, all the ligands present in the
extracts and oils showed hydrogen bonds with the key amino acid residues of the enzyme
glucose oxidase being Histidine (His 559 A), Threonine (Thr 110 A) and Arginine (Arg 512
A). In the antifungal tests, the ethanolic extract of the plant species garlic vine showed a
higher inhibition halo of 15mm at a concentration of 20mg/ml while the antifungal tests for
oils, at volumes of 1 µl; 5 µl and 10 µl revealed the formation of inhibition halos of 25mm;
28mm and 30mm for cinnamon oil. While, in the film with the oil of the vine of garlic, the
inhibition of the germination of said fungus occurred during 9 days of experiment. The
antifungal tests of the films revealed that the films with surfactant containing garlic vine oil
did not present sporulation halos and neither mycelial growth on films 1 and 2 during the 48h
of the experiment, inhibition of the growth of the fungus through the films.
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