Identification of essential oils of Mentha rotundifolia from north-east Jijel region and their antifungal potential against Botrytis cinerea

The objective of the present research is to determine the main essential oils of Mentha rotundifolia and to clarify the antifungal effect of these oils against Botrytis cinerea isolated from strawberries. The essential oils were obtained from hydrodistillation of fresh leaves, and the composition was determined using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The results show that the essential oils yield is in the order of 1.37%, and the main components were identified as pulegone 39.21%, -cubebene 11.72%, caryophyllene 9.18%, D-limonene 4.7%, -ocimene 2.39%, myrcene 2.21%, myrtenol 2.1%, -farnesene 2.03%, respectively. The essential oils of M. rotundifolia have been shown to be effective against B. cinerea in terms of antifungal activity, recording significant statistical results (P < 0.0001). M. rotundifolia essential oils have an inhibitory effect on mycelian growth, as evidenced by the reduction or inhibition of mycelian growth with increased oil concentrations of (60%) and (100%), with inhibition rates ranging from 60.83% to 48.07%, respectively. The activities of the essential oils indicated that B. cinerea was a sensitive strain tested to the oils of M. rotundifolia. According to the findings, the plant under consideration is promising as a source of natural fungicides and lends itself well to research in the field of fungi control using biological alternatives.