Relationship Between Certain Volatile Components of Lemongrass Oil and its Antiviral Activities against Bean Yellow Mosaic Potyvirus

摘要

The chemical composition and antiviral activity of lemongrass essential oil cultivated in Egypt were studied. The oil was fractionated into oxygenated and hydrocarbon fractions. The chemical composition of each fraction was investigated using GC and GC-MS. Results indicated that the major component of the hydrocarbon and the oxygenated fractions were myrecene and citral (92.8% and 92%, respectively based on fraction weight). The antiviral activity of the total oil; its fractions and the major component of each fraction (citral and myrecene), was tested against bean yellow mosaic potyvirus (BYMV) which infect broad beans (Vicia faba L). The results indicated that myrecene possessed the highest antiviral activity against BYMV followed by die hydrocarbon fraction then the total lemongrass oil and citral, while the oxygenated fraction induced the least activity. The study showed a straight forward correlation between the increase in the peroxidase activity of the host plants with increasing die concentration of myrecene and hence increasing the resistance to viral infection.