Antifungal activity of the essential oil of flowerheads of garland chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum coronarium) against agricultural pathogens

The antifungal activity of Chrysanthemum coronarium was evaluated against 12 agricultural pathogens. Flowerhead oil was active both in contact and headspace in vitro assays producing hyphal growth inhibition, although there was less activity on faster growing fungi. The main compounds identified in the oil were camphor (29.2%), alpha -pinene (14.8%), beta -pinene (9.5%) and lyratyl acetate (9.8%). The blue color of the oil was due to the presence of chamazulene (0.5%) (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.