Journal of Scientific

& Industrial
Research
KUMAR
& VERMA
: EFFECT OF FUNGI ON BUILDING AND OCCUPANTS, AND ITS CONTROL
Vol. 69, September 2010, pp. 657-661

657

Fungi diversity, their effects on building materials, occupants and control

a brief review
Manisha Kumar and Rajesh K Verma*
Building Pests and Mycology Laboratory, Environmental Science and Technology Division, Central Building Research
Institute, Roorkee 247 667, India
Received 26 February 2010; revised 07 July 2010; accepted 12 July 2010
This study reviews fungal distribution, and effect of fungi on building materials and health of occupants. Techniques of
fungal spore assessment, characterization, and quantification, and control of fungi are also discussed.
Keywords: Building materials, Eco-friendly components, Fungal diversity, Health of occupant

Introduction
Fungal growth in buildings is influenced by
nutrient, temperature, relative humidity etc. and affects
indoor air quality. Fungal growth rate has been measured
as function of temperature and humidity for a number of
mould fungi growing on agar 1 . This brief review
presents different avenues for assessment, detection and
control techniques and formulations to prevent fungal
damage.
Spread of Fungi
Fungi in Buildings and Built-Environment

Building-related moisture and mould-damaged are

significant indoor problems in many countries 2,3.
Commonest fungi in both mould-damaged and control
buildings are Penicillium, yeast, Cladosporium and
Aspergillus versicolor. Several fungal genera detected
in damaged and control buildings include Aspergillus
sp. (A. fumigates, A. glaucus, A. nidulans, A. ochraceus,
A. penicillioides, A. sydowii, A.ustus), Arthrograhis,
Aureobasidium, Engyodontium, Eurotium herbariorum,
Geomyces pannorus, Phoma, Stachybotrys chartarium
and Wallemia sebi4. Fungi have a widespread distribution in buildings in temperate regions of Asia, Europe,
North America, and Oceania 5 . In air and
surface samples from hospitals, offices and residential
buildings of Roorkee, India6, Alternaria, Aspergillus,
*Author for correspondence
E-mail: rkverma_cbri@yahoo.co.in

Penicillium, Rhizopus and Trichoderma were found

present in wall of all types of buildings. However,
Aspergillus, Geotrichum, Mucor, Penicillium and
Rhizopus were found in indoor environment.
Fungi on Other Materials

Filamentous fungi of 84 genera, represented by 234

species were isolated from library materials7 (books,
paper, parchment, feather, textiles, animals and vegetable
glues, inks, wax seals, moving pictures, magnetic tapes,
microfilms etc.). Association of A. versicolor, A. terreus,
Penicillium sp., C. gangligerum has been reported with
miniature paintings of Baroda museum. Microbial flora
inside and outside Aurangabad caves as well as Ajantha
and Ellora caves have been assessed.
Effect of Fungi
Human Health

Home dampness and fungi have shown several

positive associations between fungal exposure and
increased risk of adverse respiratory symptoms in
children8,9. Dust sampling is often a surrogate measure
for respiratory exposure to fungi10. Adverse respiratory
health effects are associated with occupancy of
buildings with moisture and mould damage.
Mucormycosis is an uncommon, rapidly progressive
fungal infection with a reputation for diagnostic
difficulties, unsatisfactory treatment and a high
mortality11. Asthma can be aggravated or even induced
by exposure to certain fungal species. Some fungi cause

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skin infections, including ringworm and athletes foot.

Inhalation of certain species can cause toxic reactions.
Fungal infections that pose no threat to healthy
individuals can be fatal to those suffering
immunodeficiency. Certain fungi produce volatile
organic compound and odors. Long-term exposure to
such substances can result in impaired health or
contribute to sick building syndrome12. Some potentially
hazardous fungi (Aspergillus and Pencillium sp.)
predominate wherever mold growth occurs. High
correlations between health problems and dampness or
mold growth have been observed, especially among
children.
Building Materials

Building materials are decayed by adverse

environmental conditions and extent of damage depends
on both materials and conditions 13 . Traditional
buildings, which survive, were soundly built with tested
practices in order to minimize water penetration,
ensuring adequate air movement around all vulnerable
structures, and allowing permeable material to breath.
Building structures and environments provide
specialized microclimates and ecological niches in their
spatial ecosystems for settlement, growth and
proliferation of a variety of fungal organisms. During
service life of buildings, natural aging, and eventual
damage of material due to different chemical, physical
and biological processes can take places. Several
biological processes cause damage to buildings, partly
due to aging of materials and excessive moisture.
Mould growth intensity and rate depends on
nutrition and pH level of material surface14. Fungi
growing on outer surface of materials can also tolerate
cold periods. Some mould and blue stain fungi can even
grow at below 0C, around -5 to -7C. Fungi have
ability to evoke biological corrosion of building
materials and thereby decline indoor air quality of
environment. Serpula lacrymans is main wood
decaying fungus in built environment in United
Kingdom and other temperate regions in the world.
Unlike other decay fungi found in built environment,
S. lacrymans appears to have a unique ability to utilize
non-woody components of buildings to assist in timber
decay process. In addition, through its cord forming
potential, fungus is able to spread through plaster,
brickwork and masonry, extending distances of several
meters from its food source to attack sound timber.
S. lacrymans may import and utilize calcium during

wood decay and are often associated with mortar,

gypsum-board or other calcium containing materials in
buildings15.
Characterization, Assessment, Quantification and
Detection of Building Fungi
Moisture damage and subsequent microbial
development are one of todays most frequent causes of
health complaints in buildings. Fungal spores release
depends on several factors, including air velocity,
relative humidity and temperature, building materials,
fungal species, ventilation, human activity and the age of
mould growth16,17. Real time fungal spore fragmentation,
investigated using Ultraviolet Aerodynamic Particle Sizer
(UVASP) and a Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS)
18
, showed that for all species and methods of generation,
fluorescent percentage of fragmented samples was lower
than that of non-fragmented samples. A cluster
Analysis19 performed to see grouping of fungal species
from different sites showed that certain fungal species
shown similar pattern of distribution throughout the year.
Because fungi concentration vary over a wide range,
threshold values are difficult to determine.
Traditional cultivation techniques for enrichment and
isolation of fungi yield only a limited fraction of all
microorganisms present. Molecular methods are based
on analysis of single cells, offering an opportunity to
analyze fungal community in its full diversity 20 .
Micromycetes colonies surfaces of different materials and
play an important role in biodeterioration processes21,22.
Use of molecular biology methodology and classical
mycological techniques based on morphology enabled
identification of decay fungi from framing timber and air
samples of leaky buildings.
Fungi emit volatile organic compounds of
microbial origin, either from their metabolism or from
degradation by enzymes or acids of material they
produce. Some volatile organic compounds have been
reported to be associated with presence of moulds,
notably 2-ethyl hexanol and benzene. Unlike spores, these
compounds are dispersed in environment without being
retained by substrates. Consequently, by measuring these
specific compounds, a detection of early-stage
contamination as well as a clearer understanding of
hidden proliferation should be possible. Chemical
emissions from 6 types of construction material
contaminated artificially by moulds were characterized.
Chemical fingerprints were established for 19 compounds
arising specifically from fungal metabolism.
Determining origin of these compounds and their

KUMAR & VERMA : EFFECT OF FUNGI ON BUILDING AND OCCUPANTS, AND ITS CONTROL

specific links with a growth substrate or fungal species

made it possible to judge pertinence of choosing these
compounds as tracers23. Other possibilities to evaluate
fungal contamination in indoor environment include
determination of levels of fungal components and
products such as ergosterol, (1-3) - betaglucan,
mycotoxins and microbial volatile organic compounds
(MVOCs).
A novel laboratory method was proposed to assess
mould growth as a function of relative humidity (RH),
temperature and substrate by measuring of thermal power
produced by fungal metabolism. A device to modify RH
of micro calorimetric samples was developed24. Fungal
concentration in atmosphere depends on various factors.
With variation in atmospheric condition and type of
substrates, kind of fungus varies and also their growth
rate, spore and fragmentation generation capacity
varies. Various methods of fungal detection and
quantification are reported but no method can quantify
mould, as it is difficult to quantify spore concentration
in atmosphere due to its dynamic nature in relation with
air velocity, RH and temperature.
Control of Fungal Growth in Buildings
Decay in buildings occurs in presence of dampness.
Elimination of decay entails removal of decayed and
infected timber, followed by chemical treatment to
sterilize and protect sound timber that is to be left in
place and to sterilize infected walls, grounds, etc25.
Dieldrin, pentachlorophenol (PCP) and tributylin oxide
(TBTO) are most widely used to control fungal decay in
buildings 26 . One way of comparing toxicity of
chemicals in fungicides is LD 50 test 27 . Further
investigation and evaluation is required to find out
alternative chemical and non-chemical treatments of
fungal infections in buildings28.
Use of Pyrazole Derivatives for Antifungal Activity

Out of 29 compounds synthesized of fused

heterocycle pyrazolo pyrimidine [ N1- Nicotinoyl-4(Sulpha/ substituted phenylazo)-1, 2-diazol-4, 6 dimethyl
pyrimidine-5-one], 13 have shown significant fungicidal
activity against A. niger, A. flavus, Penicillium
frequentans and P. granulatum 29,30. N1- Salicyloyl-4(substituted phenylazo)-1, 2 diazole 4, 6- dimethyl
pyrimidine-5-one showed stronger fungicidal activity
than N1-Isonicotinoyl-4- (substituted phenylazo)-1, 2
diazole 4, 6- dimethyl pyrimidine-5-one31.

659

Use of Medicinal Plants for Antifungal Activity

Ether and ester derivatives of menthol were

synthesized and evaluated for antifungal potency against
A. niger, A. oryzae, Fusarioum oxysporium
and Alternaria alternate. Ethylene dimmer ether
derivative was observed to be the most potent against all
fungal species32. Phytoalexins possessing antimicrobial
activity produce de novo by plants as a response to a
stress factor such as fungal or bacterial invasion.
Phytoalexin with highest antifungal activity is
isoflavonoid-based group of pterocarpans33. Medicarpin
isolated from Medicago sativa has showed antifungal
activity against Cladosporium cladosporoides at higher
level than standard fungicide, Benlate34. Phaseollin and
phaseollidin are mainly found in leguminosae family. In
vitro assays of antifungal activity of pterocarpans showed
significant activity against Helminthosporium oryzae,
Alternaria solana and Curvularia lunata35. Maackiain
inhibited growth of Pythium graminicola. Neorautenol,
isoneorautenol, erybraedin A and shinpterocarpin
showed moderate to strong antifungal activity against
yeast spores. Water, ethanol, benzene, diethyl ether and
toluene extracts of leaf, root, stem and callus obtained
from Pseudarthria viscida showed significant inhibitory
activity against some fungal pathogens36.
Isopimarane diterpenes (7-hydroxyisopimara-8, 15dien-14-one, 14-hydroxyisopimara-7, 15-dien-1-one,
1, 14-dihydroxy-isopimara-7, 15-diene, 7hydroxyisopimara-8(14), 15-dien-1-one and 7acetoxyisopimara-8(14), 15-dien-1-one), isolated from
leaves of Hypoestes serpens (Acanthaceae), exhibited
antifungal activity against both plant pathogenic fungus,
Cladosporium cucumerinum, and yeast, Candida
albicans37. Crude methanolic extracts of leaves, stem
bark, stem heartwood, root bark and root heartwood of
Eurochinus papuanus and fractions obtained on
portioning with petrol, dichloromethane (D), ethyl
acetate (E) and butanol (B), exhibited a board spectrum
of antimicrobials activity. Fractionation drastically
enhanced activity. Excellent activity was demonstrated
by E fraction of stem heartwood, D of root bark and E of
heartwood. Antifungal activity was exhibited by B
fractions of leaves, stem heartwood and root bark38. Ethyl
acetate extract from Piper crassinervium showed potent
antifungal activity against Cladosporium cladosporioides
and C. sphaerospermum39.
Volatile oil of rhizome of Curcuma zedoaria
contains 1, 8-cineol, p-cymene, and -phellandrene and
exhibited potent antifungal as well as insecticidal

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activity40. A dichloromethane and a methanol extract of

liverwort, Bazzania trilobata, showed antifungal
activity against phytopathogenic fungi Botrytis cinerea,
Cladosporium cucumerinum, Phytopphthora infestans,
Pyricularia oryzae and Septoria tritici41. Preliminary
investigation of methanol extract and n-butanol extract
from methanol extract of leaves of Artocarpus nobilis
showed positive response in antifungal bioassay against
Cladosporium cladosporioides42. Essential oil from
pericarp of Citrus sinensis showed fungicidal properties
against Candida albicans, Trychophyton rubrum and
Scytalidium dimidiatum43. A common control method for
prevention of mould growth on panels is preservative
treatment of panels with various pesticides or
chemicals44. Saturated fatty acid (palmitic acid) showed
stronger antifungal activity than unsaturated fatty acid
(oleic acid), suggesting that fatty acids might be
applicable to exploring for alternative approaches to
integrated control of phytopathogens45.
Conclusions
Regular periodic assessment of fungal infestation in
buildings can be helpful to control damage caused by
fungi in buildings and indoor environment. No
standardized and specific method to detect and control
fungal growth in buildings is available. Concerted
efforts are needed to make safer potent fungicides.
Further studies on medicinal plants may yield
biodegradable, renewable, cheaper and target specific
fungi control measures for buildings and inhabitants.
Acknowledgements
Authors thank Director, CBRI, Roorkee for constant
encouragement and permission to publish this paper.
Miss Manisha Kumar is thankful to CBRI, Roorkee
(CSIR, New Delhi) for Research Internship.
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