Essential oils (EOs) are products of plant origin and include mixtures of different chemical compounds. These volatile substances have many interesting properties, including antifungal properties. Fungi may develop under field conditions on crops such as wheat or corn and are able to synthesize mycotoxins, which adversely affect livestock and human health. In the present study, selected EOs were used to inhibit the growth of Fusarium graminearum and F. culmorum and reduce the concentrations of mycotoxins in wheat grain. The EOs significantly inhibited the growth of tested Fusarium species (90.99-99.99%), as determined based on ergosterol quantitative analysis. Only the addition of orange oil to F. culmorum exhibits a different inhibition capacity (68.13%). EO application resulted in a large reduction in zearalenone content (99.08-99.99%); only in the case of orange oil application was the reduction estimated at approximately 68.33%. However, all EOs provided a significant reduction in the concentration levels of group B trichothecenes (94.51-100%). It can be concluded that EOs inhibit the growth of fungi of the genus Fusarium and reduce concentration levels of the mycotoxins zearalenone and group B trichothecenes.
Keywords: Antifungal activity; Ergosterol; Essential oils; Fusarium spp.; Trichothecenes; Wheat grain; Zearalenone.