**4. Conclusions**

Among three concentrations of four different extracts of pomegranate, sugar apple, and eggplant peels applied as inhibitors for aflatoxigenic maize fungus *A. flavus*, the diethyl ether 50% eggplant extract displayed the highest AFB1 inhibition ratio (91.18%). After one month of maize grain storage, all the studied peel extracts were effective against AFB1 production, with average inhibition ratios ranging from 78.83% to 96.11% compared to Topsin fungicide (72.95%). The relative levels of aflD, aflP, aflQ, aflR, and aflS expression were considerably down-regulated compared to the untreated maize grains. GC-MS phytochemical analysis of fruit peel extracts suggests that compounds such as; α-kaurene, α-fenchene, *p*-allylphenol, octadecanoic acid, 3,5-dihydroxy phenol, hexestrol, xanthinin, and linoleic acid could provide antioxidant capacity, antifungal properties, and finally suppress aflatoxin production.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, I.A.I. and S.I.B.; methodology, N.H.Y., N.A.H., A.A., S.H.Q., R.S., I.A.I., M.M.E., E.S.D., I.A.E. and S.I.B.; software, A.A. and S.I.B.; validation, A.A., S.H.Q. and R.S.; formal analysis, A.A., R.S. and M.M.E.; resources, N.A.H. and S.I.B.; data curation, S.I.B.; writing—original draft preparation, I.A.I., N.H.Y., M.M.E., R.S., A.A., I.A.E. and S.I.B.; writing— review and editing, I.A.E., I.A.I., S.H.Q., R.S., E.S.D., A.A. and S.I.B.; visualization, A.A. and S.I.B.; supervision, S.I.B.; project administration, I.A.I.; funding acquisition, I.A.I. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** The current work was funded by Taif University Researchers Supporting Project number (TURSP-2020/120), Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia.

**Institutional Review Board Statement:** Not applicable.

**Informed Consent Statement:** Not applicable.

**Data Availability Statement:** All the data reported here are available from the authors upon request. **Acknowledgments:** The authors extend their appreciation to Taif University for funding the current study through the Taif University Researchers Supporting Project number (TURSP-2020/120), Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.
