The preservative potentials of sweet orange seed oil on leather products in Nigeria

Orange seed oil was extracted using the steam distillation method. The fungi isolated from the leather samples were Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus fumigatus,Aspergillus flavus, Paecilomyces sp., Penicillium sp., Rhizopus nigricans and Alternaria sp. However, the fungal species vary from person to person. The orange seed oil was active against Paecilomyces sp., Penicillium sp. and Rhizopus nigricans at a minimum concentration of 2.0, 3.0 and 3.0%, respectively, whereas the other isolates were inhibited at higher concentrations. There was considerable reduction of the mycelia growth when 3% oil extract was introduced into the medium as against growth on only Czapek’s Agar medium. There was no inhibition against Alternaria sp. Key words: Sweet orange seed oil, Aspergillus sp., Penicillium sp., extract.