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Essential Oils in Weed Control and Food Preservation II

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A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Natural Products Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2021) | Viewed by 19690

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Prof. Dr. María Amparo Blázquez

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Departament de Farmacologia, Facultat de Farmàcia, Universitat de València, Valencia, Spain
Interests: isolation; semisynthesis; plant secondary metabolites; essential oils; bioactivity; structure–activity relationship; GC-MS; HPLC-MS
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to share with you the second edition of “Essential Oils in Weed Control and Food Preservation”.

Commercial herb and spice essential oils and/or their main compounds are common ingredients in cosmetic, food, and beverage industries. Its wide range of health-promoting effects in humans and the environment relative to those of synthetic pesticides and preservatives represent potential emerging applications in the agri-food industry. This second edition has an expanded scope in terms of obtaining essential oils from new sources such as biomass (burned degraded forests, pastures, and abandoned crops) that will allow us to obtain sustainable antimicrobial, herbicidal, and antioxidant substances. In addition, to improve essential oils’ value in weed control and food preservation, studies on encapsulation techniques of the volatile compounds with safe-biodegradable wall materials will be welcome.

I believe that this Special Issue is currently relevant and that your contribution with an original research article, short communication or critical review article will be beneficial to all the stakeholders involved.

Prof. Dr. María Amparo Blázquez
Guest Editor

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Keywords

Essential oil
Chemical composition
Herbicide
Fungicide
Pesticide

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 490 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Microencapsulated Caraway Essential Oil Affects Initial Growth of Maize Cultivars

by Katarzyna Możdżeń, Agnieszka Krajewska, Jan Bocianowski, Beata Jop and Agnieszka Synowiec

Molecules 2021, 26(16), 5059; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26165059 - 20 Aug 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1653

Abstract

Caraway (Carum carvi L.) essential oil is a candidate for botanical herbicides. A hypothesis was formulated that the sand-applied maltodextrin-coated caraway oil (MCEO) does not affect the growth of maize (Zea mays L.). In the pot experiment, pre-emergence application of five doses of MCEO was tested on four maize cultivars up to the three-leaf growth stage. The morphological analyses were supported by the measurements of relative chlorophyll content (SPAD), two parameters of chlorophyll a fluorescence, e.g., Fv/Fm and Fv/F0, and fluorescence emission spectra. The analyzed MCEO contained 6.5% caraway EO with carvone and limonene as the main compounds, constituting 95% of the oil. The MCEO caused 7-day delays in maize emergence from the dose of 0.9 g per pot (equal to 96 g m⁻²). Maize development at the three-leaf growth stage, i.e., length of roots, length of leaves, and biomass of shoots and leaves, was significantly impaired already at the lowest dose of MCEO: 0.4 g per pot, equal to 44 g m⁻². A significant drop of both chlorophyll a fluorescence parameters was noted, on average, from the dose of 0.7 g per pot, equal to 69 g m⁻². Among the tested cultivars, cv. Rywal and Pomerania were less susceptible to the MCEO compared to the cv. Kurant and Podole. In summary, maize is susceptible to the pre-emergence, sand-applied MCEO from the dose of 44 g m⁻². Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Essential Oils in Weed Control and Food Preservation II)

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14 pages, 2612 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Lemon Oils Attenuate the Pathogenicity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa by Quorum Sensing Inhibition

by María Constanza Luciardi, María Amparo Blázquez, María Rosa Alberto, Elena Cartagena and Mario Eduardo Arena

Molecules 2021, 26(10), 2863; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26102863 - 12 May 2021

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 2709

Abstract

The chemical composition of three Citrus limon oils: lemon essential oil (LEO), lemon terpenes (LT) and lemon essence (LE), and their influence in the virulence factors production and motility (swarming and swimming) of two Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains (ATCC 27853 and a multidrug-resistant HT5) were investigated. The main compound, limonene, was also tested in biological assays. Eighty-four compounds, accounting for a relative peak area of 99.23%, 98.58% and 99.64%, were identified by GC/MS. Limonene (59–60%), γ-terpinene (10–11%) and β-pinene (7–15%) were the main compounds. All lemon oils inhibited specific biofilm production and bacterial metabolic activities into biofilm in a dose-dependent manner (20–65%, in the range of 0.1–4 mg mL⁻¹) of both strains. Besides, all samples inhibited about 50% of the elastase activity at 0.1 mg mL⁻¹. Pyocyanin biosynthesis decreases until 64% (0.1–4 mg mL⁻¹) for both strains. Swarming motility of P. aeruginosa ATCC 27853 was completely inhibited by 2 mg mL⁻¹ of lemon oils. Furthermore, a decrease (29–55%, 0.1–4 mg mL⁻¹) in the synthesis of Quorum sensing (QS) signals was observed. The oils showed higher biological activities than limonene. Hence, their ability to control the biofilm of P. aeruginosa and reduce the production of virulence factors regulated by QS makes lemon oils good candidates to be applied as preservatives in the food processing industry. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Essential Oils in Weed Control and Food Preservation II)

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13 pages, 12357 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluating the Antifungal Potential of Botanical Compounds to Control Botryotinia fuckeliana and Rhizoctonia solani

by Francisca Sempere-Ferre, Jordi Asamar, Vicente Castell, Josefa Roselló and M. Pilar Santamarina

Molecules 2021, 26(9), 2472; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26092472 - 23 Apr 2021

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 2007

Abstract

The European Union is promoting regulatory changes to ban fungicides because of the impact their use has on the ecosystem and the adverse effects they can pose for humans. An ecofriendly alternative to these chemicals to fight against fungal species with low toxicity is essential oils and their compounds extracted from aromatic plants. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the in vitro antifungal capacity of the botanical compounds eugenol, carvacrol, thymol, and cinnamaldehyde, and the synergy or antagonism of their mixtures, against Botryotinia fuckeliana and Rhizoctonia solani. Different bioassays were performed at doses of 300, 200, 150, and 100 µg/mL using pure commercial compounds and their combination in potato dextrose agar culture medium. Growth rate and the mycelium growth inhibition parameters were calculated. Phenolic compounds and their combination inhibited the development of species at the different concentrations, with fungicidal or fungistatic activity shown under almost all the tested conditions. When comparing the growth rates of the species in the control plates and treatments, the statistical analysis showed that there were statistically significant differences. The mixture of compounds improved fungicidal activity against the studied species and at a lower concentration of monoterpenes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Essential Oils in Weed Control and Food Preservation II)

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12 pages, 1475 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influence of the Storage of Cistus ladanifer L. Bales from Mechanised Harvesting on the Essential Oil Yield and Qualitative Composition

by Irene Mediavilla, María Amparo Blázquez, Alex Ruiz and Luis Saúl Esteban

Molecules 2021, 26(8), 2379; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26082379 - 19 Apr 2021

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3266

Abstract

Cistus ladanifer is a Mediterranean native plant from which valuable products, such as essential oil, are obtained. Manual harvesting of the plants in wild shrublands is usual during short periods of time. Their mechanised harvesting could increase the volume of harvested plants and prevent fires, further storage of the plants collected being necessary. The objective of this work is to study the influence of the storage period of mechanically harvested bales on the essential oil yield and qualitative composition. The harvesting trials were carried out with an adapted commercial harvester baler and the storage of the bales was performed indoors during 1–7 days, 15–30 days and 100–120 days. Afterwards, the bales were crushed (30 mm) and distilled in a 30 litre stainless steel still with saturated steam (0.5 bar). The essential oil components were identified by GC-MS and quantified by GC-FID. The storage of mechanically harvested Cistus ladanifer does not decrease the oil yield of steam distillation on a pilot scale. However, it leads to differences in the quantitative composition of the essential oils, decreasing the total monoterpene compounds content and increasing that of oxygenated sesquiterpenes, especially when the biomass is stored for 100–120 days, without affecting its qualitative composition. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Essential Oils in Weed Control and Food Preservation II)

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17 pages, 1421 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Signaling in the Tomato Immunity against Fusarium oxysporum

by Francisco Hernández-Aparicio, Purificación Lisón, Ismael Rodrigo, José María Bellés and M. Pilar López-Gresa

Molecules 2021, 26(7), 1818; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26071818 - 24 Mar 2021

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 3257

Abstract

New strategies of control need to be developed with the aim of economic and environmental sustainability in plant and crop protection. Metabolomics is an excellent platform for both understanding the complex plant–pathogen interactions and unraveling new chemical control strategies. GC-MS-based metabolomics, along with a phytohormone analysis of a compatible and incompatible interaction between tomato plants and Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici, revealed the specific volatile chemical composition and the plant signals associated with them. The susceptible tomato plants were characterized by the over-emission of methyl- and ethyl-salicylate as well as some fatty acid derivatives, along with an activation of salicylic acid and abscisic acid signaling. In contrast, terpenoids, benzenoids, and 2-ethylhexanoic acid were differentially emitted by plants undergoing an incompatible interaction, together with the activation of the jasmonic acid (JA) pathway. In accordance with this response, a higher expression of several genes participating in the biosynthesis of these volatiles, such as MTS1, TomloxC,TomloxD, and AOS, as well as JAZ7, a JA marker gene, was found to be induced by the fungus in these resistant plants. The characterized metabolome of the immune tomato plants could lead to the development of new resistance inducers against Fusarium wilt treatment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Essential Oils in Weed Control and Food Preservation II)

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19 pages, 3088 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Essential Oil of Calotropis procera: Comparative Chemical Profiles, Antimicrobial Activity, and Allelopathic Potential on Weeds

by Saud L. Al-Rowaily, Ahmed M. Abd-ElGawad, Abdulaziz M. Assaeed, Abdelbaset M. Elgamal, Abd El-Nasser G. El Gendy, Tarik A. Mohamed, Basharat A. Dar, Tahia K. Mohamed and Abdelsamed I. Elshamy

Molecules 2020, 25(21), 5203; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25215203 - 09 Nov 2020

Cited by 38 | Viewed by 6136

Abstract

Plants are considered green resources for thousands of bioactive compounds. Essential oils (EOs) are an important class of secondary compounds with various biological activities, including allelopathic and antimicrobial activities. Herein, the present study aimed to compare the chemical profiles of the EOs of the widely distributed medicinal plant Calotropis procera collected from Saudi Arabia and Egypt. In addition, this study also aimed to assess their allelopathic and antimicrobial activities. The EOs from Egyptian and Saudi ecospecies were extracted by hydrodistillation and analyzed via GC-MS. The correlation between the analyzed EOs and those published from Egypt, India, and Nigeria was assessed by principal component analysis (PCA) and agglomerative hierarchical clustering (AHC). The allelopathic activity of the extracted EOs was tested against two weeds (Bidens pilosa and Dactyloctenium aegyptium). Moreover, the EOs were tested for antimicrobial activity against seven bacterial and two fungal strains. Ninety compounds were identified from both ecospecies, where 76 compounds were recorded in Saudi ecospecies and 33 in the Egyptian one. Terpenes were recorded as the main components along with hydrocarbons, aromatics, and carotenoids. The sesquiterpenes (54.07%) were the most abundant component of EO of the Saudi sample, while the diterpenes (44.82%) represented the mains of the Egyptian one. Hinesol (13.50%), trans-chrysanthenyl acetate (12.33%), 1,4-trans-1,7-cis-acorenone (7.62%), phytol (8.73%), and myristicin (6.13%) were found as the major constituents of EO of the Saudi sample, while phytol (38.02%), n-docosane (6.86%), linoleic acid (6.36%), n-pentacosane (6.31%), and bicyclogermacrene (4.37%) represented the main compounds of the Egyptian one. It was evident that the EOs of both ecospecies had potent phytotoxic activity against the two tested weeds, while the EO of the Egyptian ecospecies was more effective, particularly on the weed D. aegyptium. Moreover, the EOs showed substantial antibacterial and antifungal activities. The present study revealed that the EOs of Egyptian and Saudi ecospecies were different in quality and quantity, which could be attributed to the variant environmental and climatic conditions. The EOs of both ecospecies showed significant allelopathic and antimicrobial activity; therefore, these EOs could be considered as potential green eco-friendly resources for weed and microbe control, considering that this plant is widely grown in arid habitats. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Essential Oils in Weed Control and Food Preservation II)

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