Antifungal activity of essential oil isolated from Ocimum gratissimum L. (eugenol chemotype) against phytopathogenic fungi

Abstract

An investigation of antifungal activity of the essential oil obtained by steam-distillation (1.1% w/w) of the aerial parts of Ocimum gratissimum and of an ethanolic extract from the steam-distillation residue was carried out using the agar diffusion method. The results revealed that the essential oil inhibited the growth of all fungi tested, including the phytopathogens, Botryosphaeria rhodina, Rhizoctonia sp. and two strains of Alternaria sp., while the extract from the residue was inactive. The essential oil was subjected to TLC bioautography used to detect fungitoxic constituents. The compound that showed antifungal activity was isolated and identified as eugenol. GC/MS analysis showed that eugenol was the main constituent of the essential oil studied. The antifungal activity of eugenol was evaluated against a species of Alternaria isolated from tomato (A 1 ) and Penicillium chrysogenum. The minimal inhibitory concentrations of eugenol were 0.16 and 0.31 mg/disc for Alternaria sp. (A 1 ) and P. chrysogenum, respectively.

Phytochemical and antifungal activity of anthraquinones and root and leaf extracts of Coccoloba mollis on phytopathogens

“…1 and Table 1) from the root extract. (Faria et al, 2006). Ocimum basilicum and Cymbopogon nardus oils displayed fungicidal activity against Colletotrichum musae and Fusarium proliferatum (Anthony et al, 2002), while Cinnamomum zeylanicum (L.) and Syzygium aromaticum (L.) Merr oils had fungistatic and fungicidal effects against anthracnose pathogens isolated from banana:…”

Chemical composition and antifungal activity of the hexane extract of the Brazilian Chenopodium ambrosioides L.

“…Thus, alternative safer compounds are needed to control these fungi. Although extracts of several edible botanicals are reported to have antifungal activity, [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] little work has been done to manage fungal deterioration of stored products by edible plant derived bioactive compounds. [8][9][10] Epazote (Chenopodium ambrosioides L.) is an herb native to South America, cultivated in sub-tropical and sub-temperate regions, mostly for consumption as leafy vegetable and herb.…”

Control of Toxigenic Fungi and Mycotoxins with Phytochemicals: Potentials and Challenges

“…On rice treated at 2.4 mg eugenol/g of grains, the inoculum of A. flavus failed to grow and thus AFB1 biosynthesis on rice was prevented Jham et al, 2005;Faria et al, 2006) reported antifungal activity of cinnamon bark oil against A. flavus. Juglal et al (2002) studied the effectiveness of nine essential oils in controlling the growth of mycotoxin-producing mouslds and noted that clove, cinnamon and oregano were able to prevent the growth of A. parasiticus while clove (ground and essential oil) markedly reduced the aflatoxin synthesis in infected grains.. More recently, Kumar et al (2010) studied the efficacy of O. sanctum essential oil (EO) and its major component, eugenol against the fungi causing biodeterioration of food stuffs during storage.…”