Antifungal and antimycotoxigenic properties of chemically characterised essential oil of Boswellia serrata Roxb. ex Colebr.

Abstract

ABSTRACTIn the present investigation, the antifungal and antimycotoxigenic activities of Boswellia serrata essential oil were evaluated in vitro and in viable maize. The GC-MS analysis of B. serrata essential oil showed a total of 29 constituents, among which, 3-carene (34.74%), β-ocimene (13.78%), D-limonene (8.25%), β-caryophyllene (6.65%) and terpinolene (5.39%) recorded the highest percentage. The B. serrata essential oil showed promising antifungal activity against 15 different field and storage fungi with percentage of mycelial inhibition ranged between 15.9–56.3% at 1µL mL˗1. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) values were ranged between 0.039–0.625 µL mL˗1 and 2.5–>10.0 µL mL˗1, respectively, against the same fungi tested. The production of aflatoxin B1 and fumonisin B1 were completely inhibited by B. serrata essential oil at 6 µL mL˗1in vitro. The ergosterol content was drastically decreased with the increasing concentration of B. serrata essential oil in vitro. Viable maize model confirmed that aflatoxin B1 and fumonisin B1 contents were significantly inhibited with increasing seedling vigour of maize. The results revealed that B. serrata essential oil could be explored for management of mould and mycotoxin contaminations in food grains and feedstuffs.