Produção, caracterização e atividade antifúngica de microcápsulas contendo óleo essencial de Cymbopogon citratus L. (Poaceae)

Abstract

Phytopathogens present in seeds can cause great agricultural and commercial losses, in addition to being an important way of spreading pathogens. Although there is a wide range of active ingredients available on the market for the control of phytopathogens, which can be disseminated via seeds and attack crops, problems related to efficiency, application interval, grace period and toxicity denote the need for better methods of control. Several studies prove the efficiency of essential oils as fungitoxic substances, however these substances have limitations related to their stability, making their use difficult. In this context, the present work aimed to produce and characterize microcapsules of essential oil of lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) and to evaluate its antifungal activity on Fusarium sp. and M. phaseolina. The microcapsules were produced using the coacervation technique between soy isoflavone and phenylalanine. In the produced microcapsules, with an average size of 28.36 µm, the presence of the oil was verified by FTIR spectrum, with decomposition of the wall material from 140 ° C. Total and partial inhibition of Fusarium sp. and M. phaseolina in oil and oil + graphite treatments, respectively. The microcapsule treatment did not differ statistically from the control.