Efficacy of Lemon Myrtle Essential Oil as a Bio-Fungicide in Inhibiting Citrus Green Mould
The effectiveness of lemon myrtle (LM) (<i>Backhousia citriodora</i>) essential oil (EO) was investigated to combat <i>Penicillium digitatum</i> by <i>in vitro</i> agar diffusion and vapour assay and in artificially infected oranges. The main constituent of LM EO...
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MDPI AG
2023-10-01
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| Series: | Plants |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/12/21/3742 |
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| author | Mohammad M. Rahman Ronald B. H. Wills Michael C. Bowyer Van Q. Vuong John B. Golding Timothy Kirkman Penta Pristijono |
| author_facet | Mohammad M. Rahman Ronald B. H. Wills Michael C. Bowyer Van Q. Vuong John B. Golding Timothy Kirkman Penta Pristijono |
| author_sort | Mohammad M. Rahman |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The effectiveness of lemon myrtle (LM) (<i>Backhousia citriodora</i>) essential oil (EO) was investigated to combat <i>Penicillium digitatum</i> by <i>in vitro</i> agar diffusion and vapour assay and in artificially infected oranges. The main constituent of LM EO was revealed as citral when analysed in gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Pure citral was also included in the experiment for comparison. The <i>in vitro</i> fungal growth was significantly inhibited by LM EO at 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 μL per disc while complete growth inhibition by both the pure citral and LM EO occurred at 4 and 5 μL per disc. Inoculated fruits treated by dipping in 1000 μL L<sup>−1</sup> LM EO solutions for 5, 10, 15, 30 and 120 s showed significantly lower fungal wounds compared to control. While longer dipping times led to some rind injuries, fruits with a 5 and 10 s dip were found free from any injury. The evaluation after dipping and storage confirmed that the fruits maintained the sensory attributes and were not compromised by the incorporation of the essential oil. The results of this study indicate that LM EO can be a promising alternative to synthetic fungicides for preserving the quality of citrus fruits during storage. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T11:23:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-55552d540cb34d4db27ffced122b36a7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2223-7747 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T11:23:20Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Plants |
| spelling | doaj.art-55552d540cb34d4db27ffced122b36a72023-11-10T15:10:22ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472023-10-011221374210.3390/plants12213742Efficacy of Lemon Myrtle Essential Oil as a Bio-Fungicide in Inhibiting Citrus Green MouldMohammad M. Rahman0Ronald B. H. Wills1Michael C. Bowyer2Van Q. Vuong3John B. Golding4Timothy Kirkman5Penta Pristijono6School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Ourimbah, NSW 2258, AustraliaSchool of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Ourimbah, NSW 2258, AustraliaSchool of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Ourimbah, NSW 2258, AustraliaSchool of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Ourimbah, NSW 2258, AustraliaSchool of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Ourimbah, NSW 2258, AustraliaSchool of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Ourimbah, NSW 2258, AustraliaSchool of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Ourimbah, NSW 2258, AustraliaThe effectiveness of lemon myrtle (LM) (<i>Backhousia citriodora</i>) essential oil (EO) was investigated to combat <i>Penicillium digitatum</i> by <i>in vitro</i> agar diffusion and vapour assay and in artificially infected oranges. The main constituent of LM EO was revealed as citral when analysed in gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Pure citral was also included in the experiment for comparison. The <i>in vitro</i> fungal growth was significantly inhibited by LM EO at 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 μL per disc while complete growth inhibition by both the pure citral and LM EO occurred at 4 and 5 μL per disc. Inoculated fruits treated by dipping in 1000 μL L<sup>−1</sup> LM EO solutions for 5, 10, 15, 30 and 120 s showed significantly lower fungal wounds compared to control. While longer dipping times led to some rind injuries, fruits with a 5 and 10 s dip were found free from any injury. The evaluation after dipping and storage confirmed that the fruits maintained the sensory attributes and were not compromised by the incorporation of the essential oil. The results of this study indicate that LM EO can be a promising alternative to synthetic fungicides for preserving the quality of citrus fruits during storage.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/12/21/3742lemon myrtleessential oilcitralcitrus fruitrind injury<i>Penicillium digitatum</i> |
| spellingShingle | Mohammad M. Rahman Ronald B. H. Wills Michael C. Bowyer Van Q. Vuong John B. Golding Timothy Kirkman Penta Pristijono Efficacy of Lemon Myrtle Essential Oil as a Bio-Fungicide in Inhibiting Citrus Green Mould Plants lemon myrtle essential oil citral citrus fruit rind injury <i>Penicillium digitatum</i> |
| title | Efficacy of Lemon Myrtle Essential Oil as a Bio-Fungicide in Inhibiting Citrus Green Mould |
| title_full | Efficacy of Lemon Myrtle Essential Oil as a Bio-Fungicide in Inhibiting Citrus Green Mould |
| title_fullStr | Efficacy of Lemon Myrtle Essential Oil as a Bio-Fungicide in Inhibiting Citrus Green Mould |
| title_full_unstemmed | Efficacy of Lemon Myrtle Essential Oil as a Bio-Fungicide in Inhibiting Citrus Green Mould |
| title_short | Efficacy of Lemon Myrtle Essential Oil as a Bio-Fungicide in Inhibiting Citrus Green Mould |
| title_sort | efficacy of lemon myrtle essential oil as a bio fungicide in inhibiting citrus green mould |
| topic | lemon myrtle essential oil citral citrus fruit rind injury <i>Penicillium digitatum</i> |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/12/21/3742 |
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