Antifungal property of the essential oils and their constituents from Cinnamomum osmophloeum leaf against tree pathogenic fungi

This study compares the chemical constituents of leaf essential oils from various geographical provenances of Cinnamomum osmophloeum and investigates their antifungal activities against six tree pathogenic fungi. According to GC-MS and cluster analyses, the leaf essential oils obtained from different geographical provenances and their relative contents were classified into six chemotypes: cinnamaldehyde type, cinnamaldehyde–cinnamyl acetate type, cinnamyl acetate type, linalool type, camphor type, and mixed type. Results from the antifungal tests show that the leaf essential oils of cinnamaldehyde type and cinnamaldehyde–cinnamyl acetate type have excellent inhibitory effect against Rhizoctonia solani, Collectotrichum gloeosporioides, Ganoderma australe and Fusarium solani. Furthermore, among the fourteen constituents of C osmophloeum leaf essential oils, Z-cinnamaldehyde, eugenol, geraniol and citral display the best antifungal properties. Comparisons of the antifungal properties of Z-cinnamaldehyde congeners reveal that Z-cinnamaldehyde exhibits the best antifungal property of this group.  2005 Society of Chemical Industry