Assessment of growth-inhibiting effect of some plant essential oils on different Fusarium isolates

Objective. - Essential oils (EO) of five medicinal plants were tested for anti-Fusarium activity against 10 non-toxigenic (Fusarium solani and Fusarium oxysporum) and 11 toxigenic (Fusarium verticillioides, Fusarium poae and Fusarium equiseti) isolates. Materials and methods. - Different dilutions of EO were prepared and 5 x 10(3) conidia of each fungal suspension were inoculated into Sabouraud's glucose broth tubes. The cultures were incubated at 28 C for 4 days. Results. - Mean concentrations of the EO of Zataria multiflora (165.4 and 88.914 mu g/ml), Cuminum cyminum (159 and 185.3 mu g/ml), Foeniculum vulgare (496.4 and 532.9 mu g/ml), Pinaceae (869.7 and 852.4314 mu g/ml) and Heracleum persicum (753.5 and 1492.6 mu g/ml) completely inhibit all the non-toxigenic and toxigenic isolates, respectively. Z. multiflora and H. persicum showed the highest and lowest activity against toxigenic Fusarium isolates, whereas C. cyminum and H. persicum had the highest and lowest effect on non-toxigenic isolates, respectively. However, F vulgare and Pinaceae had moderate effects against tested fungi. Conclusion. - The results indicated that non-toxigenic and toxigenic Fusarium isolates were sensitive to the five EO, particularly sensitive to C. cyminum and Z. multiflora, respectively. (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.