Abstract

OBJECTIVE: This work is an attempt to examine the antifungal activity of thymol, carvacrol, eugenol and menthol against 11 food-decaying fungi. METHODS: The susceptibility test for the compounds was carried out in terms of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) using microdilution method in 96 multi-well microtiter plates. RESULTS: Results indicated that all compounds were effective to varying extents against various fungal isolates, with the highest efficacy displayed by carvacrol (mean MIC value: 154.5 mug/mL) (P<0.05). The incorporation of increased concentrations of all compounds to the media led to progressive and significant reduction in growth for all fungi. The most potent inhibitory activity of thymol, carvacrol, eugenol and menthol was found for Cladosporium spp. (MIC: 100 mug/mL), Aspergillus spp. (MIC: 100 mug/mL), Cladosporium spp. (MIC: 350 mug/mL), and Aspergillus spp. and Cladosporium spp. (MIC: 125 mug/mL), respectively. CONCLUSION: Thus, the application of these herbal components could be considered as a good alternatives to inhibit fungal growth and to reduce the use of synthetic fungicides.