Antifungal Potential of Dill (Anethum graveolens L.) Seed Essential Oil, its Extracts and Components Against Phytopathogenic Maize Fungi

Abstract

Dill (Anethum graveolens L.) is an aromatic herb that is mainly used as a flavoring agent in the food industry. It has been also used to treat various ailments. Many reports are available in the literature regarding its biological activities. So, the present study reports the fungitoxic impact of dill (Anethum graveolens L.) seed extracts, essential oil, isolated and derivatized compounds using the poisoned food technique against phytopathogenic maize fungi (Fusarium verticillioides and Drechslera maydis). GC/MS analysis of hydro distilled essential oil (yield 1.5%) revealed carvone (42.2%) and limonene (30.0%) to be the major compounds that were further isolated using column chromatography and were chemically modified. Dill seed extracts were prepared by different extraction methods (maceration, sonication, and soxhlet) using methanol and hexane solvents and maximum yield was observed for soxhlet extraction (5.7%). The antifungal activity of all the components (essential oil, extracts, isolated compounds and derivatives) was evaluated at different concentrations (125-1000 μg/mL) using Carbendazim 50 WP and Mancozeb 75 WP as the positive control. Overall, the isolated compounds and their derivatives were more effective in comparison to the extracts and essential oil. Further, the activity was increased with increasing the concentration as well as the polarity of the molecule.