Essential oil of Rosmarinus officinalis L. from West Highlands of Algeria: Chemical characterization and in vitro antifungal activity against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. albedinis

Abstract

Rosmarinus officinalis is a well-studied species; however, R. officinalis essential oil (EO) from West highlands of Algeria was not investigated chemically and biologically. In this context, chemical composition of R. officinalis EOs obtained from leaves and stem were determined by GC/MS analysis and their antifungal activity against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. albedinis (Foa) were evaluated. The GC/MS analysis indicated that monoterpenes were the dominant class of compounds in both leaves and stem (oxygenated 84.9%, 52.4%) and hydrocarbons (12.2%, 8.4 %), respectively. Among them, 1,8-cineole was the main component (leaves: 54.4%, stem: 29.7%), which classifies these EOs as 1,8-cineole chemotype. The in vitro antifungal activity of Eos was evaluated through micro-atmosphere and direct contact methods. Best inhibitory activity against Foa was determined after 7-day incubation using direct contact method by relative growth reduction (RGR= 0.398; RGR=0.383) with EOs from leaves and stem, respectively.