Screening and Evaluation of Essential Oils from Mediterranean Aromatic Plants against the Mushroom Cobweb Disease, Cladobotryum mycophilum

The main aim of this study was to evaluate the use of essential oils (EOs) as an alternative to synthetic fungicides used in the control of cobweb disease of button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) caused by Cladobotryum mycophilum. The EOs used were obtained by hydrodistillation from five Mediterranean aromatic species (Lavandula × intermedia, Salvia lavandulifolia, Satureja montana, Thymus mastichina, and Thymus vulgaris), analyzed by gas chromatography, and tested in vitro for their antifungal activity against C. mycophilum. In vitro bioassays showed that the EOs obtained from T. vulgaris and S. montana (ED50 = 35.5 and 42.8 mg L−1, respectively) were the most effective EOs for inhibiting the mycelial growth of C. mycophilum, and were also the most selective EOs between C. mycophilum and A. bisporus. The in vivo efficacy of T. vulgaris and S. montana EOs at two different concentrations (0.5 and 1%) were evaluated in two mushroom growing trials with C. mycophilum inoculation. The treatments involving T. vulgaris and S. montana EOs at the higher dose (1% concentration) were as effective as fungicide treatment. The effect of these EOs on mushroom productivity was tested in a mushroom cropping trial without inoculation. They had a strong fungitoxic effect at the first flush. However, a compensatory effect was observed by the end of the crop cycle and no differences were observed in biological efficiency between treatments. The main compounds found were carvacrol and p-cymene for S. montana, and p-cymene and thymol for T. vulgaris. These results suggest that T. vulgaris and S. montana EOs may be useful products to manage cobweb disease if used as part of an integrated pest management (IPM) program

Producción ecológica en los cultivos de lavanda en Cuenca (España). Estudio del rendimiento y calidad de sus aceites esenciales

In the present paper, we present a description of the ecological agriculture of different lavenders in Cuenca province (Spain). We focused on the important aromatic crops of Lavandula angustifolia (lavender) and on three varieties of Lavandula × intermedia (lavandin) called name abrial, rosso and super. A description of yield production and essential oil qualities obtained in our experimental fields are presented. Lavandin var. super showed the best essential oil quality with good yield production as well. The current market of Fragrant and Medicinal Plants claims raw materials with confirmed quality, with good practices of harvesting, transformation and manufacture by means of ecological production.En este trabajo presentamos una descripción del cultivo ecológico de diferentes lavandas en la provincia de Cuenca (España), concretamente de los cultivos de Lavandula angustifolia (lavanda) y de tres variedades de Lavandula × intermedia denominadas abrial, grosso y super. Se presenta una descripción de los rendimientos de estos cultivos y de las calidades obtenidas de la destilación de sus aceites esenciales. Con la variedad super de lavandin se obtuvieron las mejores producciones y calidades. El mercado actual de plantas aromáticas y medicinales reclama materias primas de calidad contrastada, con trazabilidad óptima de los productos, buenas prácticas de recolección, transformación y manufactura mediante producción ecológica

Ecological agriculture: essay of weed control on Rosmarinus officinalis L. culture from Castilla-La Mancha (Spain)

Se presentan los resultados obtenidos en el ensayo del control de malas hierbas en agricultura ecológica de Rosmarinus officinalis L., planta aromática y medicinal de interés para Castilla La Mancha. Las diferentes cubiertas vegetales empleadas, restos verdes de Vicia sativa L., restos del destilado de plantas aromáticas y paja de cebada, redujeron el número de malas hierbas siendo la cobertura de paja de cebada la más eficaz de las testadas. El control de malas hierbas con este tipo de cubiertas naturales es una buena alternativa frente al uso de herbicidas y otros productos químicos.An essay of the weed control on ecological agriculture has been carried out. Three different cover managements have been tested: fresh plants of Vicia sativa, distil plant residues from aromatic plants and barley straw, on the tillage of an aromatic and medicinal plant from Castilla La Macha Province: Rosmarinus officcinalis L. All the cover managements were found to reduce weeds in all the tested tillage, although the barley straw cover showed to be the most efficient one. This type of covers used as weed control could be considered as an effective alternative to the use of herbicides

Polyphenol composition and in vitro antiproliferative effect of corm, tepal and leaf from Crocus sativus L. on human colon adenocarcinoma cells (Caco-2)

25 Páginas, 3 Figuras, 3 TablasSaffron is cultivated for production of the saffron spice. Nevertheless, a huge amount of saffron by-products including corms, tepals and leaves with little or no commercial value are generated during the processing of the spice. This biomass contains bioactive compounds whose exploitation can increase the profitability and sustainability of this traditional crop. A significant amount of polyphenols, mainly glycosides of kaempferol, luteolin and quercetin, have been determined in tepals and leaves of saffron. Proliferation of Caco-2 cells was greatly inhibited by the tepal and leaf extracts (ED50 0.42 mg/ml), while the corm extract caused some signs of toxicity and completely abolished proliferation (ED50 0.05 mg/ml). To our knowledge, these are the first data reporting the inhibition of the proliferation of Caco-2 cells by extracts from tepals and leaves of saffron, and polyphenols could be responsible for this effect.This work has been supported by the grant RTA2013-00005-00-00 (INIA, Spain) and is part of a Short Term Scientific Mission (STSM) carried out in the Agricultural University of Athens (AUA) and supported by the grant COST ActionFA1101 (http://www.saffronomics.org). We are grateful to the European Social Fund, Fundación Parque Científico y Tecnológico de Castilla-La Mancha and Junta de Andalucía for additional financing.Peer reviewe

Screening and Evaluation of Essential Oils from Mediterranean Aromatic Plants against the Mushroom Cobweb Disease, Cladobotryum mycophilum

The main aim of this study was to evaluate the use of essential oils (EOs) as an alternative to synthetic fungicides used in the control of cobweb disease of button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) caused by Cladobotryum mycophilum. The EOs used were obtained by hydrodistillation from five Mediterranean aromatic species (Lavandula × intermedia, Salvia lavandulifolia, Satureja montana, Thymus mastichina, and Thymus vulgaris), analyzed by gas chromatography, and tested in vitro for their antifungal activity against C. mycophilum. In vitro bioassays showed that the EOs obtained from T. vulgaris and S. montana (ED50 = 35.5 and 42.8 mg L−1, respectively) were the most effective EOs for inhibiting the mycelial growth of C. mycophilum, and were also the most selective EOs between C. mycophilum and A. bisporus. The in vivo efficacy of T. vulgaris and S. montana EOs at two different concentrations (0.5 and 1%) were evaluated in two mushroom growing trials with C. mycophilum inoculation. The treatments involving T. vulgaris and S. montana EOs at the higher dose (1% concentration) were as effective as fungicide treatment. The effect of these EOs on mushroom productivity was tested in a mushroom cropping trial without inoculation. They had a strong fungitoxic effect at the first flush. However, a compensatory effect was observed by the end of the crop cycle and no differences were observed in biological efficiency between treatments. The main compounds found were carvacrol and p-cymene for S. montana, and p-cymene and thymol for T. vulgaris. These results suggest that T. vulgaris and S. montana EOs may be useful products to manage cobweb disease if used as part of an integrated pest management (IPM) program

Determination of the Neurotoxin 3-N-Oxalyl-2,3-Diaminopropionic Acid and Other Free Amino Acids in Lathyrus cicera and L. sativus Seeds by Reversed-Phase High-Performance Liquid Chromatography

© 2015, Springer Science+Business Media New York. A method for determination of the neurotoxic non-protein amino acid 3-N-oxalyl-2,3-diaminopropionic acid (ODAP) and other free amino acids in Lathyrus cicera and Lahtyrus sativus is presented. Seed extracts were derivatised by reaction with diethyl ethoxymethylenemalonate (DEEMM) and analysed by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). Calibration curves showed very good linearity of the response. The limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) were 0.15 and 0.50 μM, respectively. The method has a high intra- [relative standard deviation (RSD) < 0.42 %] and inter-repeatability (RSD = 2.01–2.33 %) and a remarkable accuracy with a 99 % recovery in spiked samples. The method yielded similar results in comparison with a previously established colorimetric method. The method is very easy to carry out and allows for ready analysis of large number of samples using very basic HPLC equipment because the derivatised samples are very stable and have very good chromatographic properties.This work was carried out with the financial support of Junta de Andalucía (Spain) to the Laboratory of Bioactive and Functional Components of Plant Products (Instituto de la Grasa, C.S.I.C.) and the project PAI09-0015-7008 (Consejería de Educación y Ciencia, Junta de Comunidades de Castilla—La Mancha). Cristina Megias and Isabel Cortés-Giraldo are, respectively, recipients of a JAE-Doc (C.S.I.C.) contract and a JAE-Pre (C.S.I.C) fellowship from the “Junta para la Ampliación de Estudios” program (cofinanced by the European Social Fund). Thanks are due to María Dolores García Contreras for technical assistance. The authors are indebted to the Banco de Germoplasma Vegetal de Cuenca, BGV-CU (Cuenca, Spain) for supplying the plant material. We are grateful to the European Social Fund and to “Fundación Parque Científico y Tecnológico de Albacete” for additional financing.Peer Reviewe

In vitro antifungal activity of residues from essential oil industry against Penicillium verrucosum, a common contaminant of ripening cheeses

Essential oil (EO) industry produces a considerable amount of solid residues during the distillation process, which results in pollution, management and economic problems worldwide. However, these wastes are especially rich in high added-value compounds that can be exploited as natural sources of bioactive compounds. In this connection, ethanolic extracts of solid agro-industrial residues from distillation of four Lamiaceae species were chemically and biologically characterized. The phenolic profile of the extracts was tentatively determined by LC-DAD-MS and the antifungal activity against Penicillium verrucosum was established in vitro by means of the broth microdilution M38-A method. Solid residues from the industrial distillation of aromatic plants contain natural substances that may satisfactorily prevent fungal contamination on cheeses as well as providing a commercial and economical opportunity to agricultural by-products.Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Agrarias (INIA) proyectos RTA2012-00057-C03-03 y RTA2013-00005-00-002.329 JCR (2016) Q1, 32/130 Food Science and TechnologyUE

Variability of essential oil in cultivated populations of Rosmarinus officinalis L. in Spain

12 Pág.Rosmarinus officinalis L. (synonym Salvia rosmarinus Schleid) grows in the Mediterranean basin and is known to be a source of natural bioactive compounds and one of the most important aromatic species in terms of the marketing of the essential oil. However, wild collection and the lack of selection lead to the absence of standardized material that ensures the homogeneity and quality of the essential oils over time. In the present work, thirteen wild Spanish populations of rosemary were cultivated in two experimental fields and their essential oil composition monitored during two years. The main compounds present in the essential oils were camphor (21.9%), α-pinene (14.8%), 1,8-cineole (11.6%), β-pinene + myrcene (11.3%) and camphene (8.3%), although their proportions differ greatly among populations. Other terpenes as limonene had a significant presence in some populations, up to 10.2%. The results showed that the variability in the composition of essential oil was mainly controlled by genetics and little affected by soil and climate conditions. Statistical processing allowed to group populations into three different groups based on the geographical origin of the populations. In conclusion, the characterization of essential oils of these populations is a starting point for the development of breeding programmes aimed to commercialize standardized plants (varieties).This work was supported by the Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA, Spain, grant RTA2012-00057). We thank to the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Operational Program for Youth Employment 2014/2020 of Castile-La Mancha (JCCM; Spain) for additional financing. We also thank our workmates of CIAF-IRIAF and INIA for providing technical assistance.Peer reviewe