Journal of Food Research; Vol. 2, No. 5; 2013 ISSN 1927-0887 E-ISSN 1927-0895 Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education 124 Identification and Quantification of the Major Fungitoxic Components of the Brazilian Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) Essential Oil Rosimeire C. Barcelos 1 , Gulab N. Jham 2 , Onkar D. Dhingra 2 , Fernanda A. Mendonça 3 & Vânia M. M. Valente 4 1 Instituto de Química, Departamento de Química Orgânica, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil 2 Departamento de Fitopatologia, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, MG, Brazil 3 Departamento de Química, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, MG, Brazil 4 Departamento de Química, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Campus Rio Paranaíba, MG, Brazil Correspondence: Gulab N. Jham, Departamento de Fitopatologia, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, 36570-000, Viçosa, MG, Brazil. Tel: 55-31-3899-3071; Fax: 55-31-3899-3065. E-mail: gulab@ufv.br Received: December 29, 2011 Accepted: August 17, 2013 Online Published: September 6, 2013 doi:10.5539/jfr.v2n5p124 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/jfr.v2n5p124 This research was financed by the Brazilian govt. agencies CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior), CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa) and FAPEMIG (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais) Abstract Hydrodistillation of Brazilian basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) yielded 0.4% of essential oil (EO), with activity against eight important postharvest deteriorating fungi. The crude EO completely inhibited the radial growth of the fungi at a concentration of 0.1%. Thirty-two components were identified in crude EO by Kováts retention index, mass spectrometry and standards. Preparative TLC-bioautography of the crude EO presented only one band with an antifungal activity greater than that of crude EO with the following chemical composition (%): 1,8-cineole (6.2), linalool (36.3), camphor (9.7), α-terpineol (3.8), methyl chavicol (9.1) and eugenol (34.9). Based on these results, these compounds were considered to be the major fungitoxic components. This is the first study in the literature that presents data obtained simultaneously on the activity of crude basil EO against eight important post-harvest deteriorating fungi, its unequivocal chemical identification and quantification (area %). Keywords: basil, Ocimum basilicum, antifungal activity, fungitoxic components, essential oil 1. Introduction Synthetic compounds presently used to manage fungi pose a challenge to control food deterioration due to their high toxicity. Hence, alternate control measures are needed and essential oils (EOs) from edible plants appear to be promising (Pawar & Thaker, 2006, 2007; Jardim et al., 2008; Tripathi et al., 2008). Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) is an annual aromatic herb cultivated in several regions worldwide, being one of the most popular aromatic plants used in food seasoning. Although the basil EO chemical composition has been reported (Oxenham et al., 2005; De Masi et al., 2006; Tchoumbougnang et al., 2006; Gobbo-Neto & Lopes, 2007; Politeo et al., 2007; Shatar et al., 2007; Chalchat & Özcan, 2008; Hussain et al., 2008; Zheljazkov et al., 2008) with its antifungal properties (Basílico & Basílico, 1999; Anthony et al., 2004; Oxenham et al., 2005; Soković & Griensven, 2006; Bozin et al., 2006; Atanda et al., 2007; Herath & Abeywickrama, 2008; Hussain et al., 2008), compounds (antifungals) responsible for the activity have not been isolated. Identification of the major antifungal compounds may lead to the discovery new antifungal compounds. This study was conducted to assess the activities of crude Brazilian basil (O. basilicum) EO and its bioactive fraction (BAF) against the following eight postharvest deteriorating fungi: Aspergillus flavus, A. glaucus, A. niger, A. ochraceous, Colletotrichum gloesporioides, C. musae, Fusarium oxysporum and F. semitectum. In addition, the chemical compositions of the crude EO, its BAF were unequivocally determined by Kováts retention index (RI), a mass spectrometry database and standards. Components of the crude EO and the BAF were quantified by gas chromatography (GC) (relative area %). Both data (chemical composition and antifungal) were obtained simultaneously with fresh basil EO.