Bioactive Botanics against Pathogenic and Mycotoxigenic Fungi Isolated from Rice

Abstract

[EN] Cereal fungal contamination causes both economic and human health problems. In the present study, the chemical composition of commercial bay leaf, cinnamon, clove and oregano essential oils, and antifungal activity against three pathogenic fungi isolated from rice, were investigated. Essential oils presented a high percentage of oxygenated components: 78.8% in bay leaf (eucalyptol 52%); 90.5% in clove (eugenol 90%); 92% in cinnamon (eugenol 60% and eugenyl acetate 18.5%); 72% in oregano (carvacrol 50% and thymol 20%). Monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes were: 18% in bay leaf, 9% in clove, 5% in cinnamon, 25% in oregano. Cinnamon, and clove essential oils reduced fungal growth by 70%, 80% and almost 90%. Moreover, there was total inhibition using oregano until the seventeenth day. Oregano, clove and cinnamon oils could provide an alternative for controlling Bipolaris spicifer, Fusarium culmorum and Fusarium sambucinum in stored grains and seeds, so extending their shelf life.