Mites in spice and medicinal dehydrated plants stored in bulk in the metropolitan area of São Paulo

Abstract

Mites can occur in large numbers in storage units, causing serious economic damage to stored products, as well as health problems such as asthma, diarrhea, acute enteritis, and allergic reactions. In Brazil, spice and medicinal dehydrated plants are widely sold in bulk, but almost nothing is known about mite infestations. Thus, the objective of this research was to evaluate the diversity and relative abundance of mites in samples of Coriandrum sativum L., Pimpinella anisum L., Petroselinum sativum Hoffm., Matricaria chamomilla L., Baccharis trimera (Less) DC, Bixa orellana L., Senna alexandrina Mill., Origanum vulgare L., Ocimum basilicum L., Melissa officinalis L., Mentha piperita L., Rosmarinus officinalis L., Peumus boldus Molina, Salvia officinalis L., Thymus vulgaris L., Laurus nobilis L., Hibiscus sabdariffa L., Myristica fragans Houtt., Capsicum annuum L., and Curcuma longa L., collected from food retailers in the metropolitan area of São Paulo, Brazil, from October 2015 to March 2016. A total of 2584 mites, distributed into 13 families, were found in the samples of these dehydrated plants. The most abundant mite species (families) were: Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Schrank) (Acaridae) (84.6%), Cheyletus malaccensis Oudemans (Cheyletidae) (5.4%), Blattisocius tarsalis (Berlese) (Blattisociidae) (4.6%), Suidasia sp. (Astigmata: Suidasiidae) (3.2%), and Typhlodromus transvaalensis (Nesbitt) (Phytoseiidae) (1.4%). Other families (Glycyfagidae, Ameroseiidae, Bdellidae, Iolinidae, Raphignatidae, Stigmaeidae, Tydeidae) together represented less than 1.0% of the mites. T. transvaalensis is recorded for the first time in stored products in Brazil. Differences among the plant species in terms of diversity, frequency and abundance of mites were observed. Although there is a regulatory standard for good food production and service practices, the results of this study demonstrate that the bulk retail market for dehydrated plants has failed to control hygiene and quality, considering the relatively high mite infestations in most of the evaluated plant species.