Abstract
The present study was undertaken to explore the effect of essential oil hydrodistilled from oleo gum resin of Commiphora molmol in inhibiting the growth of plant pathogenic and post-harvest fungi. The essential oil was obtained by hydrodistillation of resins of C. molmol, its chemical composition was determined by GC-MS analysis and antifungal potential was evaluated against A. flavus, Cladosporium sp., A. alternata, F. oxysporum and F. solani. GC-MS analysis of myrrh essential oil reveals the presence of 15 compounds. The leading compounds were curzerene (41.81%), furanoeudesma 1, 3-diene (18.8%) and caryophyllene (14.3%). Myrrh essential oil inhibited the growth of all tested fungi. The maximum zone of inhibition by myrrh essential oil was observed for F. solani (27.8 mm), followed by F. oxysporum (26.0 mm), A. alternata (25.8 mm), Cladosporium sp. (25. 8 mm) and the least was for A. flavus (10.0 mm). The percent reduction in the germination of spores was 76.75%, 73.5%, 71.0%, 70.25% and 67.5% for F. solani, Cladosporium sp., A. alternata, F. oxysporum and A. flavus, respectively. The MICs and MFCs values of myrrh essential oil were 1.25 μl/ml and 2.5 μl/ml for F. solani, Cladosporium sp., A. alternata, F. oxysporum, whereas, it was 2.5 μl/ ml (MIC) and 5 μl/ml (MFC) for A. flavus. The present study proves that myrrh essential oil has a potential to qualify as an alternative of synthetic fungicides, especially managing the post-harvest fungal infection.