Peanut (Arachis hypogaea) is a plant of the legume family in which the central stem produces flowers. The fruit is a pod containing one to three seeds that develop in branches below the ground. Peanut seeds are used to make oils often used for preparing food in kitchens. Peanut seeds are also eaten raw or roasted [1]. They contain chemical substances (heavy metals, bacterial toxins, aliphatic hydrocarbons, pesticides, etc.) or pathogenic biological agents (viruses, bacteria fungi, and molds) [2 , 3]. Molds, mycetes, or even filamentous fungi are parasites of the fungal kingdom coming from the zygomycota and Ascomycota branches with more than 1000 species. They are important players in the microbial world involved in a multitude of biological processes with economic interest. Certain Ascomycetes are used in the food industry (involved in the fermentation process) for the manufacture of food products. Others secrete toxins that could alter the hygienic and organoleptic quality of food products [4]. These microbial or toxic effects can impact the health of humans and animals [5]. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, approximately 25% of global food crops are contaminated by mold [6 , 7]. The Aspergillus genus among other fungal species is much more incriminated in the contamination of foodstuffs with the production of the toxin and causes underlying pulmonary pathologies in humans [8]. Humans are exposed by ingesting contaminated food. Beyond the food route, humans could also be contaminated through the respiratory route (inhalation) with Aspergillus flavus conidia. These conidia constitute one of the main allergenic agents of bronchial aspergillosis in humans and are responsible for pulmonary infections in immunocompromised patients [6]. In the fields or during storage in silos or granaries, certain strains of the Aspergillus genus produce aflatoxins which are secondary metabolites recognized for their carcinogenic, immunosuppressive, and teratogenic roles. The species Aspergillus flavus, parasiticus, and nomius are the best known and have been the subject of several research studies that have demonstrated their capacity for producing aflatoxins. In addition to these three species, aflatoxin production capacities have been discovered more recently in the species of Aspergillus tamarii, ochraceoroseus, and pseudotamarii [1]. Peanut paste, by its biochemical composition and nutritional value, is potentially favorable to microbial growth and in particular mold. The consumption of peanut paste is common throughout the world, in Africa and Central African Republic in particular. Artisanal processing, means of preservation, transport, and places of sale can encourage the development of mold [7 , 9]. Peanut cultivation is one of the most cultivated agricultural products in Central African Republic due to its socio-economic and medicinal interest and the crucial role it plays in Central African cuisine as in other countries in the sub-region. Thus, few studies have been carried out in this area of contamination of peanut pastes by mold in Central African Republic although it is one of the most popular ingredients in Central African cuisine. It is in this context that this study was carried out, the objective of which was to characterize the molds contaminating peanut pastes sold at the Central African market.

The answers to the quiz made it possible to understand the manufacturing (Figure 1) process from the choice of raw materials, the conservation processes and the minimum and maximum duration.

Samples of peanut pastes sold in the main markets of the eight districts of the city of Bangui were taken by the random method and analyzed. The data obtained made it possible to highlight the profile of molds contaminating peanut pastes in the Central African Republic. The technique used was that of conventional microbiology according to ISO 7954 standards about the isolation and enumeration of

microorganisms in food samples [11 - 13] and identification based on macroscopic characters, microscopic and cultural studies of the different molds [19]. The overall prevalence of mold contamination of peanut pastes was 60% (Figure 3). This result is in line with those obtained by Sangaré et al. in 2021 [20] in a study carried out in Burkina Faso which highlighted a high prevalence of mold in pastes made from peanuts (Arachis hypogaea), corn (Zea mays), Sesame (Sesamum indicum) and Moringa (Moringa oleifera). These results also corroborate the literature which reveals the presence of mold most often in certain food groups such as peanut butter [21]. The distribution of contamination by fungal species is of the order of 28.13% of Aspergillus flavus, 11.25% of Mucor spp, 10.65% of Aspergillus terrier, 3.13% of Aspergillus niger, 2.5% of Aspergillus fumigatus, 1.25% of Aspergillus nidulans and a small proportion of 1.88% of Penicillium spp (Figure 5). The distribution of species by market is 50% of Aspergillus fumigatus at the Boy-rab and Combatant market, the proportion of Aspergillus flavus is 31% at the Petevo market, 100% at of Aspergillus nidullans at the Ouango market ,Aspergillus niger is 60% in the boy rab market and Penicillium spp is 33,33% in the Boy-rab, fighter and miskine market (Table 3). These results corroborate with the results of some studies carried out by Mahideb et al. in 2015 [22]; Rebbouh et al. in 2009 who revealed contamination of peanut pastes by strains of Aspergillus (33%) and Mucor in the order of 10% [15 , 23]. The high rate of the genus Aspergillus could be explained by the fact that this strain is often found in the soil and the air through its spores, therefore, the contamination of these foods exposed to the open air during their sale can be easily contaminated by these molds. Scheidegger et al. explained that molds present in nature would colonize agricultural products, their presence on the surfaces of the seeds was assimilated to poor storage conditions which could explain their development in peanut pastes [17]. Just as Zongo et al. in a study carried out in Chad confirms that peanut pastes are food products from the cereal family and are favorable to the growth of molds [23]. The Penicillium species is present in our study with a proportion of 1.88%. This result is in line with that of a study carried out by D'Mello et al. in 1998 which confirms the fact that species of the Penicillium genus develop much more at low temperatures, which would explain the high rate of contamination of pasty products and Ribal et al. in temperate regions [24 , 25]. The enumeration of the total fungal flora on the Sabouraud Chloramphenicol medium gave a high load of molds in the Pétévo, Sango, Miskine, and Combattant markets (Table 2). The potatoes sold at the Ouango market were less contaminated (40%). The contamination of these pastes was high at 95% in the Pétévo market (Figure 4). Our results are similar to those of a study carried out by Bennoudia et al. in 2016 in Algeria which revealed in peanut pastes a high value above the detection limit of the total fungal flora which is 10 CFU/g in peanut pastes [8 , 12]. On the other hand, our results differ from those of a study carried out by Hanak et al. who found contamination of non-disinfected grains by external mycoflora of 71.59% and of grains disinfected by deep mycoflora of 15.82% [26]. The prevalence of contamination of peanut pastes by mold by market showed a low proportion of contamination at the Ouango market unlike that of other markets. This difference could be explained by the fact that in the Ouango market, the sellers are exclusively peanut paste sellers. In other markets, sellers combined the sale of peanut pastes with other food products such as smoked fish. The results of this study are consistent with those of a study carried out by Hissein et al. which revealed contamination of food products by mold due to non-compliance with good manufacturing practices for peanut pastes, lack of respect for hygiene and conservation rules (Figure 6) [27].

The choice of markets for our sampling was not representative of all markets in the Central African Republic. Few studies have been carried out in this area, which has made it difficult to discuss our results.

The results of this study made it possible to highlight strains of mold that have a negative impact on the hygienic and organoleptic quality of peanut pastes sold on the Central African market. Most of the strains isolated from peanut pastes were of the Aspergillus flavus species. This species is known for its toxigenic effects. The artisanal processing, means of preservation, transport, and places of sale of peanut pastes can encourage the development of mold. Aspergillus flavus is responsible for bronchial aspergillosis in humans, which is a pulmonary infection in patients. Consequently, the high rate of these molds in peanut pastes would be a danger to consumers.

The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this paper.