Mycobiology.  2009 Mar;37(1):48-52. 10.4489/MYCO.2009.37.1.048.

Essential Oil Prepared from Cymbopogon citrates Exerted an Antimicrobial Activity Against Plant Pathogenic and Medical Microorganisms

• Jeong MR
• Park PB
• Kim DH
• Jang YS
• Jeong HS
• Choi SH

• KMID: 2053002
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4489/MYCO.2009.37.1.048

Abstract

Essential oils are mixtures of volatile, lipophilic compounds originating from plants. Some essential oils have useful biological activities including antimicrobial, spasmolytic, antiplasmodial, and insect-repelling activities. In this study, we tested the antimicrobial activity of essential oil prepared from the aromatic plant, Cymbopogon citrates, against three important plant pathogenic and medical microorganisms, Pectobacterium carotovorum, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, and Aspergillus niger. It effectively inhibited the growth of the bacterium, Pectobacterium carotovorum, in a dose-dependent fashion, and 0.5% of the oil inhibited the growth of bacteria completely. Similarly, the essential oil inhibited the growth of plant pathogenic fungus, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, and the addition of 1% of essential oil completely inhibited the growth of fungus even after 5 days of culture. Finally, it effectively inhibited the growth of the medically and industrially important fungal species, Aspergillus spp. These results suggest that the essential oil from Cymbopogon citrates may be an environmentally safe alternative to inhibit antimicrobial agents for various uses.

Keyword

Antimicrobial activity; Essential oil; Microorganism; Pathogenic; Plant

MeSH Terms

Anti-Infective Agents
Aspergillus
Aspergillus niger
Bacteria
Citrates
Colletotrichum
Cymbopogon
Fungi
Oils, Volatile
Pectobacterium carotovorum
Plants
Anti-Infective Agents
Citrates
Oils, Volatile