The Anti-Adherent Activity of Plant Extracts on Penicillium Commune Spores Causing Cedar Wood Decay: An ESEM Analysis

Abstract

Decay and deterioration of wood by bacteria and fungi are becoming very serious problems because of the resistance of microorganisms to antimicrobial agents. Thus, this study was aimed at investigating the anti-adhesion effect of Myrtus communis and Thymus vulgaris extracts obtained by classical and ultrasonic extraction, against of Penicillium commune spores isolated from fez Medina cedar wood. According to environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) analysis, the results showed that all extracts tested have proven their ability to inhibit the adhesion of the fungal spores studied. In addition, the extract of each plant obtained by ultrasonication showed a low percentage (47% and 33%) of fungal spores adherent to a wood substrate compared to those recovered by maceration (68%). Furthermore, M. communis extracts have shown outstanding anti-adhesive activity, similar to that demonstrated by those of T. vulgaris. Finally, the treatment of wood by M. communis extracts obtained by ultrasonication showed a very important anti-adhesive activity at a concentration of 20 mg/mL compared to that at 5 mg/mL. Therefore, these extracts can be considered a potential source of bioactive metabolites acting as anti-adhesion molecules in novel formulations for the cedar wood preservation.