Chemical characterization and determination of in vivo and in vitro antifungal activity of essential oils from four Eucalyptus species against the Hemileia vastatrix Berk and Br fungus, the agent of coffee leaf rust

Abstract

Essential oils, also known as volatile oils, are substances produced through the secondary metabolism of plants. In this study, we determined the chemical composition and the in vitro and in vivo antifungal activity of the essential oils from four species of Eucalyptus, Eucalyptus citriodora, Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Eucalyptus grandis and Eucalyptus microcorys, against the Hemileia vastatrix fungus. The essential oils from these four species of Eucalyptus were extracted from their leaves by the hydrodistillation technique using a modified Clevenger apparatus. The chemical characterization was performed by gas chromatography coupled with a mass spectrometer detector and by gas chromatography using a flame ionization detector. The antifungal activities of the essential oils against H. vastatrix were studied by evaluating the percentage of spore germination using the microdilution test for in vitro assays. The curative and preventive effects were evaluated in in vivo tests. The principal constituents of the essential oil from E. citriodora were citronellal, citronellol and isopulegol, while E. camaldulensis produced 1,8-cineole, α-terpineol and α-pinene. 1,8-cineole, α-pinene and α-terpineol were obtained from E. grandis and 1,8-cineole, α-pinene and trans-pinocarveol were the principal components in the essential oil of E. microcorys. In vitro and in vivo antifungal activities against the fungus under study were observed for most of the essential oils, except the essential oil from E. microcorys, for which no preventive antifungal activity was observed. Only the curing of infection by the H. vastatrix fungus was observed with this oil.

Antifungal activity of poly(ε-caprolactone) nanoparticles incorporated with Eucalyptus essential oils against Hemileia vastatrix

“…Coffee farming is currently influenced by new consumer markets and globalization that increasingly demand sustainable products and processes (Lemeilleur et al 2020). Natural fungicides with low toxicity and high efficiency and that do not generate residues in the environment have been studied with the objective of obtaining a sustainable production of coffee (Caetano et al 2020). Many research activities have shown that essential oils can be used for the management of pests and fungal diseases (Antonioli et al 2020).…”

“…The aerial parts of trees are a rich source of essential oils that are used commercially in the food and pharmaceutical industries (Nwabor et al 2019;Yadav et al 2019). Several phytochemical studies have reported the antifungal potential of Eucalyptus essential oils against a wide range of economically important phytopathogenic fungi, including Alternaria alternate, Hemileia vastatrix, Botrytis cinerea, Rhizopus stolonifer, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus terreus and Fusarium culmorum (Caetano et al 2020;Elgat et al 2020;Silva et al 2020;Pedrotti et al 2022).…”

“…Natural fungicides with low toxicity and high efficiency and that do not generate residues in the environment have been studied with the objective of obtaining a sustainable production of coffee (Caetano et al . 2020). Many research activities have shown that essential oils can be used for the management of pests and fungal diseases (Antonioli et al .…”

“…Several phytochemical studies have reported the antifungal potential of Eucalyptus essential oils against a wide range of economically important phytopathogenic fungi, including Alternaria alternate , Hemileia vastatrix , Botrytis cinerea , Rhizopus stolonifer , Aspergillus flavus , Aspergillus niger , Aspergillus terreus and Fusarium culmorum (Caetano et al . 2020; Elgat et al . 2020; Silva et al .…”

Antioxidant and Antitumoral Potential of Terpenes and Phenylpropanoids against MCF7, A549 and HT144 cancer cell lines

“…Essential oils are a complex mixture of terpenes and phenylpropanoids extracted from plants, which exhibit antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, antitumoral activities, among others (Iso, 2013;Wang et al, 2018;Camargo et al, 2019;Ferreira et al, 2019;Pavithra et al, 2019;Caetano et al, 2020). In recent years, with the increase in cancer cases, there has been a demand for products and medicines of natural origin that present lower long-term toxicity for living organisms (Yu et al, 2011;De Lima et al, 2014;Sokmen et al, 2020).…”