ANTIFUNGAL PROPERTIES OF Moringa oleifera AND Olea europaea OILS AGAINST Penicillium chrysogenum AND Mucor circinelloides

Abstract

The search for new antifungal substances against plant pathogens continues because of the negative effects of inorganic fungicides on both plants and the environment. This study focused on assessing the antifungal activities of Moringa oleifera (Moringa) and Olea europaea (Olive) essential oils individually and in combination against two selected fungi isolated from agricultural soils obtained from different locations. Antifungal activities of both oils individually and synergistically were investigated using the food poisoning method. The phytochemical analysis of Moringa oil revealed a combination of phytochemicals while Olive oil showed only the presence of terpenoids. From the results, Moringa oil alone demonstrated strong activity against both pathogens with mycelial radial growth inhibition ranging from 2.83±0.44mm to 5.83±1.01mm. This was significantly (p≤0.05) different from the controls (17.67±3.38mm for Penicillium chrysogenum and 39.17±0.73mm for Mucor circinelloides). For Olive oil alone, the radial growth inhibition ranged from 6.83±1.92mm to 24.00±3.00mm. This was significantly different from the controls. The synergistic combination of Moringa oil and Olive oil gave results ranging from 0.00±0.00mm to 11.33±0.67mm compared to the controls. The highest percentage mycelial growth inhibition for Moringa oil was 89.79% (Mucor circinelloides, 14%) and the lowest was 71.70% (Penicillium chrysogenum, 2%). The highest percentage mycelial growth inhibition for Olive oil was 82.55% (Mucor circinelloides, 14%) and the lowest was 16.98% (Penicillium chrysogenum, 2%). The percentage mycelial growth inhibition for the synergistic combination gave a highest value of 100% (Mucor circinelloides, 14%) and the lowest was 30.19% (Penicillium chrysogenum, 2%). The results of this study revealed that M. oleifera an O. europaea oils significantly (p≤0.05) reduced the mycelial radial growth of the tested pathogens individually and synergistically. Further studies should however, be conducted to ascertain the effectiveness of these natural fungicides in vivo.