Critique Paper on

“Antifungal Activity of Lemongrass (Cympopogon citratus L.) Essential Oil

Against Key Postharvest Pathogens”

Diseases, which are produced by a variety of plant pathogenic organisms, are a dominant
contributor of crop and plant damage. Hence, fungi are the leading cause of crop loss around the
world (McGrath, 2004). Pesticides have a range of negative effects, including pesticide leftovers
on food, handling hazards, increased expense, and a danger to the environment and human health
(Paster & Bullerman, 1988).

In the research article “Antifungal Activity of Lemongrass (Cympopogon citratus L.)

Essential Oil Against Key Postharvest Pathogens,” Tzortzakis & Economakis (2007) tested the
efficacy of lemongrass oil against postharvest infections, with a focus on the essential oil's
potential future application as an anti mould agent. The research presented a significant results
showing that the use of lemongrass oil-enrichment reduced the subsequent colony development of
the postharvest pathogens. Hence, the lemongrass oil-enrichment can be an alternative for
synthetic fungicides or other sanitation treatments used in preservation and manufacturing.

Tzortzakis & Economakis (2007) used pure lemongrass essential oil and tested its
antifungal property against Colletotrichum coccodes, Botrytis cinerea, Cladosporium herbarum,
Rhizopus stolonifer and Aspergillus niger in vitro. The researchers isolated the postharvest
pathogens from a tomato fruit the sub-cultured on standard triple-vented Petri dishes containing
20 ml of Potato Dextrose Agar. They tested the antifungal activity on the fungal colony
development through dilution method in different ppm (parts per million) of essential oil. Using
Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Duncan's Multiple Range test (P= 0.05) following one-way
ANOVA, Tzortzakis & Economakis (2007) found that the addition of lemongrass oil to PDA
media culture resulted in a significant (Pb ˂ 0.05) reduction in colony development, fungal
sporulation, and spore germination.

The researchers’ assessments and evaluations had a significant value in food industry as
fungi are the leading cause of crop loss around the world. They involved various postharvest
pathogens to test the effectivity of the lemongrass essential oil thus, supporting it with the past
studies of lemongrass antifungal activities. The materials and methods performed in the study were
detailed and properly executed such as storing the isolates (postharvest pathogens) and the cultured
dishes in a specific room temperature which can be also a factor of producing unreliable results if
not performed. Significant results were acclaimed in the results of the study, hence, the findings
were analysed and explained briefly. They also included previous studies that supported their
findings as well as studies that some postharvest pathogens were not affected when treated with
lemon grass oil in a culture medium such as F. verticillioides as reported in the past studies of
Adegoke & Adesola (1996) indicating that not all postharvest pathogens can be treated with
lemongrass essential oil. Moreover, contrasting the present findings varied when evaluated in other
infections, most likely due to differences in the treatment and/or pathogen itself.

The study proves that oil essentials can possess antifungal activity and may aid in food
preservation. This study supports to exploitation as an ideal therapeutic intervention for future
plant disease control programs eliminating fungal spread. Moreover, essential oils are natural
products obtained from plants that can be utilized as natural additives in a variety of foods due to
their antifungal, antioxidant, antibacterial, and anti-carcinogenic characteristics in which could
help the environment and drawbacks of using synthetic preservatives on human health as one of
the problems stated in the study. Hence, using natural preservatives are less likely to cause allergic
reactions and long-term health effects.

As the general population more aware of these dangers, there is a greater need to develop
better pesticide alternatives. Natural plant preservatives with pesticidal efficacy are one such
possibility, as they have low toxicity, minimal economic and environmental consequences, and
massive public acceptance. Tzortzakis & Economakis (2007) gave an important study promoting
the use of natural preservatives of foods as an innovative, useful aid, and alternative for synthetic
fungicides or other sanitation treatments used in preservation and manufacturing. By lowering the
spore production in the processing atmospheric conditions and using essential oil as an alternative
food preservative, oil enrichment may diminish disease development with a large contribution to
reducing the transmission of pathogens.

The study can be replicated for future research by using other postharvest pathogens and
higher concentrations of essential oils. Moreover, evaluation and testing of the minimum
concentration on application of fungicides to meet the full extent of effectiveness without affecting
the fresh quality of the goods and its storage.

REFERENCE

Tzortzakis & Economakis (2007). Antifungal activity of lemongrass (Cympopogon citratus

L.) essential oil against key postharvest pathogens. Innovative Food Science & Emerging
Technologies, 8(2), Pages 253-258.

McGrath, M.T. (2004). What are Fungicides. The Plant Health Instructor. Retrieved from
https://www.apsnet.org/edcenter/disimpactmngmnt/topc/Pages/Fungicides.aspx