Chemical composition and antifungal activity of Syzygium aromaticum L. essential oil

This research was aimed to study the effects of antifungal activity of cloves (Syzygium aromaticum L.) essential oil against three pathogens-Botrytis cinerea, Alternaria alternata and Fusarium solani-isolated from tomato, cherries and potatoes by adding the fungus to their medium and also identify antifungal activity of the essential oil as a food preservative against the pathogen. Essential oil was extracted by Clevenger-type apparatus and identification and amount of the essential oil was performed using chromatography–mass spectroscopy and gas chromatography.The most important components of the essential oil were isoeugenol (87.09%), eugenol acetate (9.71%), Aromadendrene (0.68%), Chavicol (0.3%), and Linalool (12.51%), respectively. Isoeugenol has the highest percentage of growth inhibitory on B. cinerea, so that, on average, 97% of the growth of this fungus was prevented at the concentration of 200 µl/l. However, the growth inhibitory percentage at this concentration was calculated to be 87% and 94%, for A. alternata and F. solani, respectively. More than 95% and 100% of the growth of all three fungi was prevented at concentrations of 500 and 1000 µl/l of essential oil.The best essential oil concentration to prevent the growth of fungi on fruit tissue was 200µl/l for B. cinerea, and 1000 µl/l for two other fungi. Antifungal properties of S. aromaticum essential oil are due to phenolic compounds in it like eugenol. Our results clearly showed that S. aromaticum essential oil was effective against post-harvest diseases, and its antiseptic properties could be used in plant pathology.