Essential oils inhibiting Alternaria alternata and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides: a review

Abstract

Essential oils (EOs) have been investigated for their effectiveness against fungal fruit pathogens. The present review article summarises the EOs that inhibit Alternaria alternata and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides in the pre- and post-harvest stages of fruits. Thirty-nine scientific papers focusing on the extraction conditions and the antifungal activity of EOs were selected. The retrieved studies came mainly from China and Brazil. Hydrodistillation has been identified as the most used extractive method. The yields and chemical profiles were variable among the species. The in vitro studies were larger than the in vivo studies. The application of EOs reduced the incidence of fungal diseases in tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum), papaya (Carica papaya) and mango (Mangifera indica). EOs resulted as a potential ecological alternative for treating fungal diseases in fruits requiring further investigation.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords:

• Essential oil
• distillation
• bioactivity
• antifungal
• Alternaria alternata
• Colletotrichum gloeosporioides

Author contributions

Conceptualisation: Matteo Radice and Roberta Tardugno; methodology: Estela Guardado Jordi; data mining: Amaury Pérez Martínez and Lizbeth Rashell Matailo Camino; writing—original draft preparation: Laura Scalvenzi and Estela Guardado Jordi; writing—review and editing: Amaury Pérez Martínez; supervisión: Matteo Radice. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.