Potentialities of the essential oil of Curcuma longa L. for its application in coatings antifungal

ERASMO GÁMEZ ESPINOSA; CECILIA DEYÁ; NELSON LIMA; NATALIA BELLOTTI

Manchester, Inglaterra

Simposio; 17th International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation Symposium; 2017

International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation Society

Filamentous fungi are highly deteriorating to structural materials. The application of essential oils in the formulation of coatings with antifungal capacity to avoid the biodeterioration is presented as a viable solution with respect to other biocides questioned by their toxicity. This research proposed the assessment of the potential of essential oil (EO) of Curcuma longa L. for application in antifungal coatings, through the possible biocidal action of the oil on Aspergillus flavus MUM 16.01. This species was selected because of the higher frequency of occurrence in air micological studies. First, inhibition dilution test in Petri dishes with Czapek Agar was carry on to assess the effect of EO on fungal growth with three concentrations: 0,001; 0,1; 1,0 % v/v. In addition, it was evaluated the inhibition in the germination of conidia by: EO, cuban propolis, antiseptic detergent (Deconex) and Tween 20 in dish of 96 wells with the same concentrations respectively. The germination evaluated at 24 hours, counting 200 conidia in each well. There were statistically significant differences (p ≤ 0,05) on the fungal growth according the concentrations different on the EO, with an inversely proportional relation. This natural product with concentration of 1% reduced more than three times the colony diameter and inhibited between 41 and 55 % of conidia germination, values similar to those of the commercial detergent Deconex. Therefore, EO can be considered as a natural product with high antifungal activity and could be used in the formulation of antifungal coatings.