Open Access

ARTICLE

Chemical Composition and Antifungal Efficacy of Mentha rotundifolia Essential Oil against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. albedinis in Date Palm: Valorisation of Plant Biomass for Natural Antifungal Agents

Hafida Khelafi¹, Wassima Lakhdari², Mustapha Mounir Bouhenna³, Said Boudeffeur⁴, Hayet Meamiche¹, Salah Neghmouche Nacer^5,*, Meriam Laouar⁶

1 Division of Biotechnology and Plant Improvement, National Institute of Agronomic Research of Algeria (INRA), El Harrach, PB 200, Algiers, 16200, Algeria
2 National Institute of Agronomic Research of Algeria, Touggourt, 30200, Algeria
3 Center of Research in Physical and Chemical Analysis (CRAPC), Bou-Ismail PB 384, Tipazan, 42004, Algeria
4 National Institute of Agronomic Research of Algeria, BP 229, Adrar, 01000, Algeria
5 Faculty of Exact Sciences, Chemistry Department, University of El Oued, P.O. Box 789, El Oued, 39000, Algeria
6 Laboratory of Integrative Improvement of Plant Productions (AIVP; Code C2711100), National Higher School of Agronomy, Algiers, 16200, Algeria

* Corresponding Author: Salah Neghmouche Nacer. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Fungal and Bacterial Disease Management in Agricultural Crops Through Biological Control, Disease Resistance, and Transcriptomics Approaches)

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2025, 94(12), 3975-3989. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2025.073210

Received 12 September 2025; Accepted 19 November 2025; Issue published 29 December 2025

Abstract

Essential oils (EOs) derived from medicinal plants are gaining recognition as sustainable alternatives to synthetic fungicides in the management of plant pathogens. This study investigates the chemical composition, chromatographic profile, and antifungal of Mentha rotundifolia essential oil against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. albedinis (Foa), the pathogen responsible for Bayoud disease in date palm. The oil was extracted through hydrodistillation and characterized using thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS), revealing multiple fractions corresponding to terpenoid constituents and 23 chemical constituents, predominantly oxygenated monoterpenes (68.51%), with piperitenone oxide as the major component (62.53%). The antifungal efficacy was evaluated against ten (10) isolates of F.o.a across seven (07) concentrations different concentrations. (0; 0.25; 0.5; 0.75; 1; 1.25; 1.5μL/mL). The results obtained show a progressive decrease in the diameters of the colonies of F.o.a isolates by increasing the doses of EOMR. The percentage of inhibition varies from 7.82 to 83.41%; However, the dose of 1.75μL/mL showed 100% inhibition for all F.o.a isolates tested. These outcomes demonstrate the potential of M. rotundifolia essential oil as a natural, environmentally friendly antifungal agent, supporting its application in sustainable management strategies for Bayoud disease in date palm.

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