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Abstract
Among the most alarming postharvest fungal pathogens affecting the shelf life of citrus fruits are green (Penicillium digitatum) and blue (Penicillium italicum) molds. This in vitro study was aimed to evaluate the essential oils (EOs) of Cymbopogon flexuosus (CF) and Monarda citriodora (MC) and their principal components against these fungal pathogens. The composition of selected EOs was analyzed using Gas Chromatography- Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) and Gas Chromatography-Flame Ionization Detector (GC-FID). Citral (83.81%) and thymol (62.51%) were identified as major components and were isolated by column chromatography from CF and MC EO respectively followed by characterization using spectral techniques such as Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (1H-NMR) and Carbon Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (13C-NMR). Among EOs and their major components, thymol displayed promising potential against both Penicillium species with MIC values of 50 and 80 mg L-1 respectively. Molecular docking studies also confirmed the stable binding interaction of both components, particularly thymol with the active sites of target proteins i.e. 14-α-demethylase and chitin synthase of P. digitatum and P. italicum with the docking scores of -5.07, -5.41 kcal/mol and -5.78, -5.23 kcal/mol respectively. Optical microscopy studies revealed hyphal thinning and fragmentation at frequent sites with contraction of cytoplasmic content indicating incipient plasmolysis. The tested principal components, citral and thymol were predicted to exhibit similar mechanism of action to that of synthetic recommended molecules as revealed by molecular docking. Therefore, these findings provide empirical support to explore thymol as a promising eco-friendly antifungal agent for postharvest application in Kinnow.
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