Study of Essential Oil Composition and Antifungal Activity of Lavandula mairei , L. dentata and Tetraclinis articulata

摘要

Back Ground and Objective: Medicinal plants are getting popular day by day because of their easy accessibility and reasonable costs. This study investigated the chemical composition and antifungal activity of Lavandula mairei , Lavandula dentata and Tetraclinis articulata plants essential oils against Penicillium digitatum , Penicillium italicum and Geotrichum citri-aurantii , the main post-harvest pathogens in citrus. Materials and Methods: Essential oils were obtained by hydrodistillation from areal parts of tested plants. Afterwards, they were analyzed by means of GC-MS and their antifungal efficacy was tested in vitro by using the agar plate’s method. Results: The main constituents were carvacrol for L. mairei , camphor, linalool and β-pinene for L. dentata and bornyl acetate, α-pinene, borneol and limonene for T. articulata . In the in vitro assay, the effect of essential oils on mycelial growth and spore germination varied significantly between tested plant species. Complete growth inhibition of the three pathogens was obtained by L. mairei essential oil. Also, L. mairei displayed the highest bioactivity, inhibiting completely the spore germination of the three pathogens. Moreover, this species showed fungistatic and fungicidal activity on the three fungal pathogens. Conclusion: In this study, L. mairei essential oil showed great antifungal activity which could represent a potential alternative to synthetic fungicides for the control of citrus fruit fungal pathogens.