The essential oils of five Lavandula stoechas cultivars grown in Thailand were characterized for their volatile compounds using GC‐FID and GC/MS methods as well as screened for antibacterial and antioxidant activities. Dried aerial parts, including flowers and stems from each cultivar, were subjected to hydrodistillation for 4 h. The essential oil yields were 0.18 %–0.82 % w/w. Of the 95 compounds detected and identified, 1,8‐cineole, fenchone, and camphor were considered the major compounds. Essential oil from each cultivar demonstrated different patterns of antibacterial activity and a variety of antioxidant properties. The highest antibacterial activity, MIC=0.39 mg mL−1, was observed from the essential oil of L. stoechas ‘major’ (against Klebsiella pneumoniae and Salmonella typhimurium) and the essential oil of L. stoechas ‘white lavender’ (against S. typhimurium). The essential oil of L. stoechas×viridis ‘St. Brelade’ possessed the highest antioxidant capacity, as determined by the DPPH and ABTS assays (IC50 of 67.65 and 89.26 mg mL−1, respectively). The results indicated that some of these essential oils could be used as key ingredients in lavender oil products in Thailand to increase their therapeutic efficacy, depending on their intended application.

Accumulated plastic waste in the environment is a serious problem that poses an ecological threat. Plastic waste has been reduced by initiating and applying different alternative methods from several perspectives, including fungal treatment. Biodegradation of 30 fungi from Thailand were screened in mineral salt medium agar containing low-density polyethylene (LDPE) films. Diaporthe italiana, Thyrostroma jaczewskii, Collectotrichum fructicola, and Stagonosporopsis citrulli were found to grow significantly by culturing with LDPE film as the only sole carbon source compared to those obtained from Aspergillus niger. These fungi were further cultured in mineral salt medium broth containing LDPE film as the sole carbon source for 90 days. The biodegradation ability of these fungi was evaluated from the amount of CO2 and enzyme production. Different amounts of CO2 were released from D. italiana, T. jaczewskii, C. fructicola, S. citrulli, and A. niger culturing with LDPE film, ranging from 0.45 to 1.45, 0.36 to 1.22, 0.45 to 1.45, 0.33 to 1.26, and 0.37 to 1.27 g/L, respectively. These fungi were able to secrete a large amount of laccase enzyme compared to manganese peroxidase, and lignin peroxidase enzymes detected under the same conditions. The degradation of LDPE films by culturing with these fungi was further determined. LDPE films cultured with D. italiana, T. jaczewskii, C. fructicola, S. citrulli, and A. niger showed weight loss of 43.90%, 46.34%, 48.78%, 45.12%, and 28.78%, respectively. The tensile strength of LDPE films cultured with D. italiana, T. jaczewskii, C. fructicola, S. citrulli, and A. niger also reduced significantly by 1.56, 1.78, 0.43, 1.86, and 3.34 MPa, respectively. The results from Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) reveal an increasing carbonyl index in LDPE films culturing with these fungi, especially C. fructicola. Analysis of LDPE films using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) confirmed the biodegradation by the presence of morphological changes such as cracks, scions, and holes on the surface of the film. The volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from LDPE films cultured with these fungi were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). VOCs such as 1,3-dimethoxy-benzene, 1,3-dimethoxy-5-(1-methylethyl)-benzene, and 1,1-dimethoxy-decane were detected among these fungi. Overall, these fungi have the ability to break down and consume the LDPE film. The fungus C. fructicola is a promising resource for the biodegradation of LDPE which may be further applied in plastic degradation systems based on fungi.

Fungal endophytes are microorganisms living symbiotically with a host plant. They can produce volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that have antimicrobial activity. This study aimed to isolate endophytic fungi from Barleria prionitis plants grown in Thailand and to investigate the antifungal properties of their VOCs against Colletotrichum acutatum, a causal agent of anthracnose disease on post-harvest strawberry fruits. A total of 34 endophytic fungi were isolated from leaves of B. prionitis. The VOCs produced from each individual isolate were screened for their antifungal activity against C. acutatum using a dual-culture plate method. From this in vitro screening experiment, the VOCs produced by the endophytic isolate BP11 were found to have the highest inhibition percentage (80.3%) against the mycelial growth of C. acutatum. The endophytic isolate BP11 was molecularly identified as Daldinia eschscholtzii MFLUCC 19-0493. This strain was then selected for an in vivo experiment. Results from the in vivo experiment indicated that the VOCs produced by D. eschscholtzii MFLUCC 19-0493 were able to inhibit infections by C. acutatum on organic fresh strawberry fruits with an average inhibition percentage of 72.4%. The quality of the pathogen-inoculated strawberry fruits treated with VOCs produced by D. eschscholtzii MFLUCC 19-0493 was evaluated. Their fruit firmness, total soluble solids, and pH were found to be similar to the untreated strawberry fruits. Solid phase microextraction-gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric analysis of the VOCs produced by D. eschscholtzii MFLUCC 19-0493 led to the detection and identification of 60 compounds. The major compounds were elemicin (23.8%), benzaldehyde dimethyl acetal (8.5%), ethyl sorbate (6.8%), methyl geranate (6.5%), trans-sabinene hydrate (5.4%), and 3,5-dimethyl-4-heptanone (5.1%). Each major compound was tested for its antifungal activity against C. acutatum using the in vitro assay. While all these selected VOCs showed varying degrees of antifungal activity, elemicin was found to possess the strongest antifungal activity. This work suggests that D. eschscholtzii MFLUCC 19-0493 could be a promising natural preservative for controlling C. acutatum associated anthracnose disease in strawberry fruits during the post-harvest period.

Endophytic fungi, which colonize within a host plant without causing any apparent diseases, have been considered as an important source of bioactive secondary metabolites containing antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. The aim of this research was to isolate the endophytic fungi of Cinnamomum loureiroi and then to screen their antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. A total of 11 fungal endophytes were isolated from healthy leaves of Cinnamomum loureiroi belonging to six genera: Botryosphaeria, Colletotrichum, Diaporthe, Fusarium, Neopestalotiopsis, and Pestalotiopsis. All isolated strains were cultured and further extracted with ethyl acetate solvent. Antimicrobial activity of all crude endophytic fungal extracts was analyzed using disc diffusion assay against six bacterial and two fungal pathogens. Crude extracts of strains MFLUCC15-1130 and MFLUCC15-1131 showed broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against all tested pathogens. Activity against Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus epidermidis was notable, showing the lowest minimum inhibitory concentration at 3.91 μg/mL. Antioxidant activity of all crude endophytic fungal extracts was also evaluated based on 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl assay. Significant antioxidant activity was detected in the crude extracts of fungus MFLUCC15-1130 and MFLUCC15-1131 with IC50 of 22.92 ± 0.67 and 37.61 ± 0.49 μg/mL, respectively. Using molecular identification, MFLUCC15-1130 and MFLUCC15-1131 were identified as Neopestalotiopsis sp. and Diaporthe sp., respectively. The major chemical constituents produced by both crude extracts were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Eugenol, myristaldehyde, lauric acid, and caprylic acid were the primary antimicrobial and antioxidant compounds in both crude extracts. This is the first report of eugenol being a biologically active compound of Neopestalotiopsis sp. and Diaporthe sp. fungal endophytes. Eugenol has been reported as antimicrobial and antioxidant agents with agronomic applications. Thus the two newly-isolated endophytes may be used for eugenol production, which in turn can be used in a variety of applications.

Polyester urethanes (PUR) are widely used in industries and have led to a worldwide plastic waste problem. Thus, novel solutions for PUR degradation are required to reduce environmental pollution. This work investigates the PUR biodegradation efficiency of 33 fungal species using a polyester-polyurethane colloid branded Impranil DLN (Impranil) compared to Aspergillus niger, which served as the positive control. The biodegradation is evaluated based on its ability to clear Impranil in media. Eleven fungi can clear Impranil in both solid- and liquid-medium assays. The highest degradation was attributed to Embarria clematidis cultured with Impranil as a carbon source. The degradation was confirmed by the Sturm test, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). From the Sturm test, CO2 at a concentration of 0.85 g/L was found in E. clematidis cultured with 150 mL of Impranil solution after a 2-week incubation period while the CO2 at a concentration of 0.53 g/L was detected from A. niger in the same conditions. The biodegradation was further confirmed by evaluating the clearance percentage of supernatant of E. clematidis and A. niger culturing with Impranil from the Sturm test. The clearance percentage of E. clematidis and A. niger supernatant was 88.84 and 48.97%, respectively. Moreover, the degradation of soft segment and breakdown of ester linkages were observed, as evidenced by the decrease of the carbonyl (1,715 cm–1) and N-H stretching (1,340 cm–1 and 1,020 cm–1) FTIR spectral peaks, respectively. GC-MS detected 3Z-heptenol, 5Z-octenol, 2E,4E-hexadienol acetate, and 3E,6Z-nonadienol as degradation products from the E. clematidis culture supernatant. This fungus was screened for its ability to produce extracellular esterase, protease, and urease enzymes. Extracellular esterase, very low urease, and no protease activities were detected in the culture supernatant of E. clematidis in the presence of Impranil. E. clematidis can degrade Impranil partially via hydrolysis of ester linkages by cell-bound esterases at a considerable rate without any prior treatment. This fungus not only degraded Impranil but also mineralized them into CO2 and H2O. E. clematidis can be applied in the process of biochemical depolymerization of PUR for the pure monomers recycling.

Bunch rot in grapes is an aggressive disease and needs to be controlled during the postharvest period. We investigate the antifungal potential of Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim., Zanthoxylum rhetsa, Cuminum cyminum, Coriandrum sativum, and Zingiber montanum (J. Koenig) Link ex A. Dietr. essential oils against Aspergillus aculeatus that cause bunch rot disease on postharvest grapes. C. cyminum essential oil exhibited stronger significantly inhibition percentage of 95.08% than other treatments in in vitro assay. Cumin aldehyde (33.94%) and α-terpinen-7-al (32.20%) were identified as major volatile compounds in C. cyminum oil. Antifungal potential of C. cyminum oil was then tested in conidia germination and in vitro tests compared to cumin aldehyde and α-terpinen-7-al. Their EC50 values against the conidial germination were also estimated. Significant reduction of conidia germination was also detected in C. cyminum essential oil and cumin aldehyde at a concentration of 1,000 and 100 μg/mL, respectively. EC50 values of the C. cyminum essential oil, cumin aldehyde, and α-terpinen-7-al were 67.28 μg/mL, 9.31 μg/mL, and 13.23 μg/mL, respectively. In vivo assay, the decrease of the disease severity (0.69%) and incidence (1.48%) percentage of A. aculeatus on grape berries treated at 1,000 μg/mL of C. cyminum essential oil was significantly greater than that obtained from other treatments after 10 days incubation. In addition, grape berries treated with C. cyminum essential oil decreased weight loss and retained fruit firmness. The changing of total soluble solids, total phenolic content, and antioxidant activity are also delayed in treated fruits. Therefore, essential oil of C. cyminum may be applied as a biological antifungal agent to control A. aculeatus in postharvest grapes without any negative effects on its quality.

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BACKGROUND: Two Fusarium fungi, F. oxysporum and F. proliferatum, have been recognized as major pathogenic fungi that cause postharvest decay of chili fruits. Ozone and some toxic chemicals are used to control pathogenic infections, leading to longer storage lives of agricultural commodities. However, these chemicals may pose some risks to the applicators and the environment. Therefore, alternative, easy-to-use fumigants for effective control of Fusarium infections in harvested fresh chilies are needed. RESULTS: Two endophytic fungi, Trichoderma afroharzianum strain MFLUCC19-0090 and T. afroharzianum strain MFLUCC19-0091, were isolated from Schefflera leucantha leaves. Their volatile compounds were investigated for antifungal activities against F. oxysporum and F. proliferatum. In vitro results showed that the volatile compounds produced by each strain inhibited pathogen growth. Additionally, the Trichoderma-derived volatile compounds significantly reduced Fusarium-related disease severity and incidence percentages in the inoculated fresh chilies. Antifungal properties of the volatile compounds were found to be specific to the species of the tested pathogens (MFLUCC19-0090 greatly suppressed F. oxysporum and MFLUCC19-0091 greatly suppressed F. proliferatum). Seventy-three volatile compounds were detected from both strains. Among the major volatile compounds detected, phenyl ethyl alcohol was found to possess the strongest antifungal activity against both pathogens. CONCLUSION: These Trichoderma-derived volatile compounds may be used as alternative fumigants for controlling Fusarium rot in harvested fresh chilies. The successful use of volatile compounds as biofumigants can prevent significant market losses and, more importantly, may reduce the health hazards caused by Fusarium-associated mycotoxin exposures among consumers.