This investigation included the chemical analysis of Peganum harmala (P. harmala) seed oil and its antifungal properties against 10 fungal species. Seed oils of six populations were analyzed using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gas chromatograph/mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The HPLC analysis indicated that P. harmala seed oil exhibited a very high level of tocopherol contents, with values in the range of 2385.66–2722.68 mg/100 g. The most abundant tocopherol isomer was δ-tocopherol (90.39%), followed by γ-tocopherol (8.08%) and α-tocopherol (1.14%). We discovered for the first time the presence of tocotrenols in P. harmala seed oils of the six populations studied. The GC-MS analyses revealed that linoleic acid was the main fatty acid (65.17%), followed by oleic acid (23.12%), palmitic acid (5.36%) and stearic acid (3.08%). We also studied the antifungal activity of seed oil of the Medenine (MD) population on ten fungal pathogens. The antifungal effects differed among pathogens and depended on oil concentrations. Seed oil of the MD population caused a significant decrease in mycelial growth of all fungi tested, with values ranging 31.50–82.11%, except for Alternaria sp., which showed no inhibition. The antifungal activity against the 10 selected fungi can be explained by the richness in tocols of the extracted oil and make P. harmala a promising crop for biological control. Furthermore, the importance of fatty acids and the wide geographic spread in Tunisia of this species make this crop a potential source of renewable energy.
Peganum harmala is a halonitrophilous perennial herb that is relevant in the landscape of steppe, semidesert, and desert territories in southern Europe, northern Africa, and southwestern Asia. We present here data on the nuclear DNA amount assessment in one Iberian and 17 Tunisian populations of this species. The 2C values, belonging to the very small genome category, ranged from 0.61 to 0.67 pg. These data are the first on genome size for the species and for the whole genus and the whole family. In addition, the somatic chromosome number (2n = 24) has been counted in one population, confirming previous reports and constituting the first one in a Tunisian accession of the species. The results show a high degree of homogeneity of the character studied within the species. These new data, filling a gap in genome size knowledge at family level, together with the specific homogeneity in genome size in a large area, could be relevant for further large-reach analyses on genome size evolution.
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