Chemical constituents of essential oil from Murraya paniculata leaves and its application to in vitro biological control of the fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum

ABSTRACT Besides their value as therapeutic resources, medicinal plants may also be used as sources of active ingredients against phytopathogens. Fungi can grow and cause spoilage in food, thus, resusting in decrease in its quality and quantity. This research aimed at evaluating the effect of essential oil from Murraya paniculata (ML-EO) leaves on mycelial growth of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, a fungus that poses high risk to several cultures, mainly soybean. Essential oil from M. paniculata (Rutaceae) leaves was obtained by hydrodistillation which was carried out by a Clevenger-type apparatus while its chemical composition was analyzed by GC-FID and GC-MS. β-Caryophyllene (23.8%), α-zingiberene (21.0%) and β-cubebene (10.2%) were the main constituents found in ML-EO leaves. In vitro antifungal activity showed that ML-EO, at a 300 µL dose, inhibited 91.2% of mycelial growth of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum . This is the first report of the antifungal activity of ML-EO against S. sclerotiorum and results suggest that the essential oil under evaluation has good potential to control this phytopathogenic fungus