Danae Pitarokili

ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITIES OF SELECTED AROMATIC PLANTS GROWING WILD IN GREECE

Essential oils of Origanum onites, Satureja thymbra, Salvia fruticosa (Greek sage), and Salvia pomifera subsp. calycina plants growing wild in Greece and their components carvacrol, camphor, and 1,8-cineole, were assayed for antifungal activity against 13 fungal species. Among the fungi tested were food poisoning, plant, animals and human pathogenic species. The oils presented various degrees of inhibition against all the fungi investigated. The highest and broadest activity was shown by the carvacrol content oils (O. onites and S. thymbra), while the oil of sage was the least effective. Carvacrol exhibited the highest and 1,8-cineole the lowest level of antifungal activity among the components tested.

Composition and Antifungal Activity of the Essential Oil of Salvia pomifera subsp. calycina Growing Wild in Greece

Abstract The hydrodistilled essential oil of the aerial parts of Salvia pomifera subsp. calycina was analyzed by GC/MS. Fifty compounds representing 98% of the oil were identified. The main components of the oil were α-thujone (20.3%), β-thujone (36.3%) and myrcene (5.9%). The biostatic activity of the oil was evaluated in vitro against seven fungal strains.

ACTIVITY OF THE ESSENTIAL OIL OF SALVIA POMIFERA L. SSP. CALYCINA (SM.) HAYEK AGAINST SOIL BORN PATHOGENS

Abstract The antifungal activity of the oil of Salvia pomifera ssp. calycina and its main components (α- and β-thujone) were tested on six phytopathogenic fungal strains. The hydrocarbon and oxygenated fractions of the oil were assessed against Rhizoctonia solani and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, the two most susceptible fungi to the oil tested. The oil exhibited fungistatic effect at the concentration of 1000 μL/L on R. solani and S. sclerotiorum, whereas its oxygenated fraction showed fungicidal activity at 2000 and 1000 μL/L, respectively. The hydrocarbon fraction had a weak effect on the test organisms. The oxygenated monoterpenes α- and β-thujone exhibited a moderate fungistatic effect to R. solani and S. sclerotiorum, while their inhibitory activity was weak to Verticillium dahliae and the Fusarium species tested.

Volatile Compounds in Thymus sect. Teucrioides (Lamiaceae): Intraspecific and Interspecific Diversity, Chemotaxonomic Significance and Exploitation Potential

Thymus sect. Teucrioides comprises three species, namely, T. hartvigii, T. leucospermus, and T. teucrioides, distributed in Greece and Albania. The volatile constituents of all species of the section were obtained by hydrodistillation and investigated by GC‐FID and GC/MS analyses. Twenty populations were sampled and a total of 103 compounds were identified, representing 98.0–99.9% of the oil compositions. The oils were mainly characterized by high contents of monoterpene hydrocarbons (42.7–92.4%), with the exception of three oils for which oxygenated monoterpenes were the dominating constituents, viz., that of T. hartvigii ssp. macrocalyx, with linalool as main compound (89.2±0.5%), and those of T. hartvigii ssp. hartvigii and of one population of T. teucrioides ssp. candilicus, containing thymol as major component (46.4±3.1 and 38.2±3.9%, resp.). The most common compound in the oils of the 20 populations of the section was p‐cymene. Considerable variation was detected within and among populations, and seven chemotypes were distinguished, i.e., p‐cymene, linalool, p‐cymene/thymol, p‐cymene/γ‐terpinene, p‐cymene/borneol, p‐cymene/γ‐terpinene/borneol, and p‐cymene/linalool chemotypes. Different chemotypes may exist in the same population. Multivariate statistical analyses enabled the segregation of the oils within Thymus sect. Teucrioides into two groups, one consisting of the three subspecies of T. teucrioides and the second comprising the species T. hartvigii and T. leucospermus. A linalool‐rich chemotype, unique within the section, distinguished the oil of T. hartvigii ssp. macrocalyx from all other oils. The high oil content of p‐cymene and the preference for serpentine substrates render T. teucrioides species promising for future exploitation.

Composition of the Essential Oil of Spontaneous Rosmarinus officinalis from Greece and Antifungal Activity Against Phytopathogenic Fungi

Abstract The chemical composition of the essential oil of spontaneous Rosmarinus officinalis from Greece was analyzed by GC and GC/MS and tested for its antifungal activity against five phytopathogenic fungi (Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Phytophthora nicotianae, Sclerotium cepivorum, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. dianthi and Fusarium proliferatum). Thirty-seven components compounds representing 97.3% of the total oil were identified. The major constituents were α-pinene (24.1%), camphor (14.9%), 1,8-cineole (9.3%), camphene (8.9%), α-terpineol (8.8%) and borneol (8.0%). The most sensitive fungus was Ph. nicotianae, followed by S. sclerotiorum, S. cepivorum, F. proliferatum and F. oxysporum f. sp. dianthi.