Simultaneous Hydrodistillation of Cedrus atlantica Manetti and Salvia rosmarinus Spenn: Optimization of Anti-Wood-Decay Fungal Activity Using Mixture Design Methodology

Chemical fungicides are often harmful to people and theenvironmentbecause of their toxicity. The wood protection industry places a highpriority on replacing them with natural products. Therefore, thisinvestigation focused on developing a formulation of a binary combinationof Salvia rosmarinus Spenn and Cedrus atlantica Manetti obtained by Simultaneoushydrodistillation to protect the wood from decay using a mixture designmethodology. The chemical composition of essential oil was identifiedby gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS), andtheir anti-wood-decay fungal activity was assessed using the macrodilutionmethod against four fungi responsible for wood decay: Coniophora puteana, Coriolus versicolor, Gloeophyllum trabeum, and Poria placenta. The results of GC/MS identified myrtenalas a new component appearing in all binary combinations. The optimumanti-wood-decay fungal activity was observed in a combination of 60% S. rosmarinus and 40% C. atlantica essential oils, providing an effective concentration for 50% ofmaximal effect (EC50) value of 9.91 & PLUSMN; 1.91 and 9.28 & PLUSMN; 1.55 & mu;g/mL for C. puteana and C. versicolor, respectively.The highest anti-wood-decay fungal activity for G.trabeum and P. placenta was found in the combination of 55% of S. rosmarinus and 45% of C. atlantica essentialoils, with EC50 values of 11.48 & PLUSMN; 3.73 and 22.619 & PLUSMN; 3.79 & mu;g/mL, respectively. Combined simultaneous hydrodistillationimproved the antifungal effect of these essential oils. These resultscould be used to improve antifungal activity and protect wood againstwood-decay fungi.

Automated summary

The study found that a combination of rosemary and cedar essential oils can effectively protect wood from fungal decay. The optimal anti-fungal activity was observed at specific ratios of the essential oils.