Antifungal activity of essential oils derived from some medicinal plants against grey mould (botrytis cinerea)

TLDR: The results have shown that the essential oils derived from clove, cinnamon and lemongrass might be used as alternative options for the control of gray mould on postharvest organic fruits.

Abstract: Preventing fungal decay in organic fruits after harvest is an increasingly challenge and novel preservation approaches which comply with organic food standards need to be developed. Preliminary experiments have shown that the essential oils of various plants possess some antifungal activities. In this study, the essential oils derived from four medicinal plants were evaluated and compared for their antifungal efficacies against Botrytis cinerea, an aggressive postharvest pathogen on a wide range of fruit. According to a modified in vitro microatmospheric test, vapors of clove oil, cinnamon oil and lemongrass oil exhibited strong inhibitory effects on B. cinerea, with a MIQ (minimal inhibitory quantity) equal to 15 µL. However the headspace vapors of galingale oil exhibited weaker inhibitory effect (MIQ = 25 µL). The results of the nature of this inhibition of these oils indicated that clove oil, cinnamon oil and lemongrass oil all exhibited fungicidal effect on the pathogen, while galingale oil exhibited some fungistatic properties. These results have shown that the essential oils derived from clove, cinnamon and lemongrass might be used as alternative options for the control of gray mould on postharvest organic fruits.