Antifungal activities of different essential oils against anise seeds mycopopulations

The aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of biological control of fungal species isolated from anise seeds using essential oils from medicinal plants: mint (Mentha spicata L.), sage (Salvia fruticosa L.), rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.), anise (Pimpinella anisum L.), bitter fennel (Foeniculum vulgare spp. piperituum L.) and myrtle (Myrtus communis L.). Ten fungal species isolated from anise seeds: Bipolaris/Drechslera sorociniana, Fusarium subglutinans, F. vertricilioides, F. oxysporum, F. tricinctum, F sporotrichioides, F. equiseti, F. incarnatum, F proliferatum and Macrophomina phaseolina, were used in this experiment The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) were determined by micro-dilution method using selected essential oils (EOs). A qualitative and quantitative chemical analyses of EOs were carried out. All EOs exhibited a significant antifungal activity against all tested fungal isolates. The myrtle EO proved to be the most potent one (MIC 0.0003-3.25 mg/mL, then mint 0.0003-7.75 mg/mL and sage 0.0003-10 mg/mL). All tested fungi were observed to have a susceptibility to all selected essential oils. These results suggest the possibility for application of the EOs in biological control of anise production.