Chemical Composition of the Fruit Essential Oil of Phellodendron chinense (Rutaceae) from China and Its Antifungal Activity against Plant Pathogenic Fungi

Abstract

Essential oil of Phellodendron chinense fruit was obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC-FID and GC-MS. Myrcene (70.7%), β-elemene (4.7%) and p-cymene (4.4%) were the major compounds of the 20 identified components. The antifungal activity of the oil, evaluated against fifteen plant pathogenic fungi, was determined by mycelial radial growth inhibition method. The values of the mean inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) against the tested fungi were at a range of 0.24–1.46 mg/mL. Furthermore, IC₅₀ of the oil against spore germination of Magnaporthe oryzae was determined to be 2.60 mg/mL. These results indicated that P. chinense oil could be a potential source of antimicrobial ingredients for plant disease control.

Key Word Index:

• Phellodendron chinense
• Rutaceae
• essential oil
• composition
• myrcene
• antifungal activity
• spore germination
• plant pathogenic fungi