Essential oils composition of Ocimum basilicum L. and Ocimum gratissimum L. from Kenya and their inhibitory effects on growth and fumonisin production by Fusarium verticillioides.

Abstract

This work investigated the constituents and the efficacy against Fusarium verticillioides infection and fumonisin production of essential oils of Ocimum basilicum L. and Ocimum gratissimum L. from different locations in Kenya. The oil of leaves and flowering tops of O. basilicum from Sagana contained mainly linalool (95%). The flowering tops and leaves from Yatta contained mainly camphor (32.6 and 31.0%, respectively) and linalool (28.2 and 29.3, respectively). Eugenol was the main constituent in the oil of 0. gratissimum leaves from both Sagana (95.5%) and Yatta (70.1%). The oil of the flowering tops had significantly less eugenol. The main component of the oil of flowering tops from Yatta was Z-J3-ocimene (34.1%). Oil from both species had some antifungal activity. The oils of 0. basilicum and 0. gratissimum from different locations showed chemical variation, antifungal activity, free radical scavenging capacity and antimycotoxicogenic property. These properties are attributed to the phenolic compound eugenol.