Abstract
The current study was conducted to investigate antifungal and insecticidal activities of essential oil extracted from the Moroccan Withania frutescens L. (EOW), and their chemical composition was profiled. To achieve this goal, EOW was extracted by the hydro-distillation method and their phytochemical constituents were characterized by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analyses (GC-MS). Insecticidal activity was evaluated by use of four tests: contact toxicity, inhalation toxicity, and repellent tests. Antifungal activity was evaluated on Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. Ciceris (F. oxysporum) using different concentrations of EOW. GC/MS analysis revealed that EOW was rich in carvacrol (31.87%), thymol (30.08%), and camphor (9.13%). At a 1-µL/L dose, EOW exhibited mortality rates of 23.13 ± 1.07% and 24.41 ± 1.21% against Callosobruchus maculatus (C.maculatus) by inhalation and contact, respectively. Notably, EOW dose of 20 μL/L caused significant mortality rates of 95.1 ± 3.5% and 76.69 ± 1.71% by inhalation and contact, respectively. EOW exhibited an inhibitory effect on mycelial growth against the tested fungi F. oxysporum of 100% and 93.5 ± 1.1% for the 9 and 4.5 mg/mL doses, respectively. The reduced mycelial growth rate for F. oxysporum was recorded to be 0.3 ± 0.1 and 0.6 ± 0.1 mm/h for the EOW doses of 2.25 and 4.5 mg/mL, respectively. The outcome of the present work showed that EOW has a promising antifungal and insecticidal activity, and it can therefore be employed as a natural alternative insecticidal and mycocidal agent to replace the chemically-synthesized ones.
Highlights
Despite being small, pulse crops represent significant members of the legume family, which includes more than 1800 species
The phytochemicals identified in EOW by GC/MS are summarized in Figure 2 and Table 2
The extraction yield of EOW was about 0.28%, which is reasonable relative to species among Solanaceas [18]. This yield is comparable to some plants that are industriallyexploited as a source of essential oils such as Latin rosa L.(0.1–0.35%), Salvia rosmarinus L. (1–2.5%), Mentha piperita L. (0.5–1%), Citrus Aurantium L. (0.5–1%), Lavandula angustifolia L. (0.8–2.8%), Pimpinella anisum L. (1–3%), and Thymus vulgaris L.(2–2.75%) [29]
Summary
Pulse crops represent significant members of the legume family, which includes more than 1800 species. Post-harvest losses caused by insect pests during storage have been reported to be a growing problem in Africa, leading to the loss of more than 30% of stored dry food products [5]. Callosobruchus maculatus (C. maculatus) belongs to the cosmopolitan insect pests attacking crops of leguminous plants [6] The existence of this insect in leguminous stocks may cause a great loss because of its rapid multiplication in warehouses. W. frutescens L. is an annual woody medicinal plant that belong to Magnoliophyta division, class Magnoliopsida, order Solanales, family Solanaceae, and genera Withania. This genus is indigenous to North Africa, South Asia, Western Asia, Southern Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Canary Islands [14].
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