The isolated essential oils from seven air-dried plant species were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).
Thymus vulgaris (thyme),
Origanum vulgare (oregano),
and Origanumdictamus (dictamus) essential oils were found to be rich in phenolic compounds representing 65.8,71.1,
and 78.0% of the total oil, respectively.
Origanum majorana (marjoram) oil was constituted ofhydrocarbons (42.1%), alcohols (24.3%),
and phenols (14.2%). The essential oil from
Lavandulaangustifolia Mill. (lavender) was characterized by the presence of alcohols (58.8%)
and esters (32.7%).Ethers predominated in
Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary)
and Salvia fruticosa (sage) essential oils,constituting 88.9
and 78.0%, respectively. The radial growth, conidial germination,
and productionof
Penicillium digitatum were inhibited completely by oregano, thyme, dictamus,
and marjoramessential oils at relatively low concentrations (250-400
![](/images/entities/mgr.gif)
g/mL). Lavender, rosemary,
and sageessential oils presented less inhibitory effect on the radial growth
and conidial germination of
P.digitatum. Conidial production of
P. digitatum was not affected by the above oils at concentrationsup to 1000
![](/images/entities/mgr.gif)
g/mL. Apart from oregano oil, all essential oils were more effective in the inhibition ofconidial germination than of radial growth. The monoterpene components, which participate inessential oils in different compositions, seem to have more than an additive effect in fungal inhibition.Keywords: GC-MS analysis; essential oils; fungitoxicity; antimicrobial; Penicillium digitatum