Essential Oils for Fungal Disease Management
Summary
Essential oils are complex mixtures of volatile plant metabolites that have emerged as promising agents for the control of fungal pathogens in agriculture and postharvest preservation. Their multifaceted modes of action include disruption of cell membranes, interference with signalling pathways, inhibition of biofilm formation and attenuation of mycotoxin synthesis. These properties make essential oils attractive alternatives or complements to synthetic fungicides, offering reduced environmental impact and a lower risk of resistance development. Practical applications span from vapour-phase treatments in storage facilities to direct formulations applied to crops or produce. Challenges remain in terms of standardising oil composition, mitigating phytotoxicity and improving stability and delivery. Recent advances in encapsulation and nano-formulation are addressing these hurdles, facilitating controlled release and enhancing efficacy under variable field and storage conditions. The global significance of this research lies in its potential to support sustainable crop protection, minimise postharvest losses and contribute to food security.
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Essential Oils for Fungal Disease Management publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in essential oils for fungal disease management across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Essential oil: Volatile, hydrophobic mixture of plant secondary metabolites with antimicrobial properties.
Biofilm: Structured community of microbial cells enclosed within a self-produced matrix attached to a surface.
Mycotoxin: Toxic secondary metabolite produced by certain fungi harmful to humans and livestock.
In vitro: Experiments conducted in a controlled environment outside a living organism, such as in a petri dish or test tube.
In vivo: Experiments conducted within a living organism or natural context, such as plant tissue assays.
Reactive oxygen species (ROS): Highly reactive molecules containing oxygen that can induce oxidative stress and cell damage.
References
- Essential Oils and Antifungal Activity. Pharmaceuticals (2017).
- Application of essential oils and polyphenols as natural antimicrobial agents in postharvest treatments: Advances and challenges. Food Science & Nutrition (2020).
- Effects of Origanum vulgare essential oil and its two main components, carvacrol and thymol, on the plant pathogen Botrytis cinerea. PeerJ (2020).
- A review of the methods used to determine the target site or the mechanism of action of essential oils and their components against fungi. Discover Applied Sciences (2021).
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