Evaluación de la actividad antifúngica in vitro de aceites esenciales microencapsulados de Cupressus sempervirens L. y Schinus molle L. frente a Cladosporium fulvum Cooke

Abstract

This research was conducted to evaluate the in vitro antifungal activity of microencapsulated essential oils (MEO) from Cupressus sempervirens L. and Schinus molle L. against Cladosporium fulvum, a pathogen that causes significant economic losses in kidney tomato cultivation. To evaluate the percentage of mycelial growth inhibition (PMGI), a completely randomized experimental design was implemented with seven treatments and four replicates, using the agar dilution method. The treatments were concentrations of 15%, 10%, 9%, 8%, 7%, 6%, and 5% for Cypress MEO; and 15%, 14%, 13%, 12%, 11%, 10%, and 5% for Molle MEO. Likewise, to determine the MIC, eight treatments and eight replicates were used, using microdilution in multiwell plates with PDB medium. The concentrations used were 20%, 15%, 10%, 5%, 2.5%, 1.25%, 0.3125%, and 0.625% for both MEOs, applied to the pathogen C. fulvum. The results obtained by separating the means with the Tukey test (p<0.05) showed that the PMGI is equal to or greater than 8% for cypress MEO and equal to or greater than 13% for molleMEO. As for the MCI, both cypress and molle AEMs recorded an MCI of 5%. In conclusion, the microencapsulated essential oils of cypress and molle showed significant antifungal activity against C. fulvum, supporting their potential as a sustainable control alternative, as they act as natural fungicides without causing environmental damage