Essential oils from Mediterranean aromatic plants Artemisia herba-alba, Artemisia absinthium and Mentha longifolia to improve blueberry shelf life

Abstract

The Mediterranean Basin is particularly rich in aromatic plants with essential oils whose composition and properties are still to be investigated. The aims of this work were to: investigate the chemical composition of essential oils from three typical Spanish aromatic species: Artemisia herba-alba, Artemisia absinthium and Mentha longifolia; evaluate the antifungal potential of essential oils against seven plant pathogenic and postharvest fungi; analyse the effectiveness of the Mentha longifolia essential oil in extending the blueberry fruit shelf life. The main compounds for the Artemisia herba-alba essential oil were camphor (29.8%), trans-thujone (22%), 1,8-cineole (14.5%) and cis-thujone (10.8%). In the A. absithium essential oil, they were cis-cryshanthemyl acetate (35.4%), cis-β-epoxiocimene (36%) and trans-β-epoxiocimene (10.4%). α-Terpineol acetate (32.6%), pulegone (14.2%) and 8-acetoxy carvotanacetone (10.3%) were the most important molecules in the obtained composition of the Mentha longifolia essential oil. Different bioassays were performed at the 300 μg/mL and 600 μg/mL doses using the distinct essential oils in potato dextrose agar culture medium. The Artemisia herba-alba and Artemisia absinthium essential oils at 300 μg/mL were not very effective. The Mentha longifolia essential oil strongly inhibited mycelial growth at the two tested doses, but it totally inhibited the growth of Curvularia hawaiiensis, Fusarium nygamai and Verticilliun dahliae at 600 μg/mL. The blueberries coated with the Mentha longifolia essential oil solution obtained a statistically higher percentage of healthy fruit than the control. They could be considered an ecofriendly alternative for postharvest treatment, and for maintaining the quality and turgidity of these berries during storage.