Flavour Fragr J. 2020;00:1–10. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/ffj | 1 © 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd 1 | INTRODUCTION Some fungi play an important role in many aspects of human life and can be biotechnologically important. Some fungi species can be used in fermented food preparations, like bread preparation, alcoholic beverages, vinegar, and cheese. Furthermore, it can con- tributed to the pharmaceutical industry, being used as a source of antibiotics. 1,2 Fungi are also present in biodegradation process and biological effluent treatment. They are also agriculturally and eco- logically important, as they maintain the environmental equilibrium, decomposing organic matter and degrading toxic substances. 1,2 In contrast, many fungi can cause undesirable transformations in food, such as unpleasant taste and odor caused by different degrees of deterioration. 1 These microorganisms can produce toxins that Received: 30 January 2020 | Revised: 22 April 2020 | Accepted: 11 May 2020 DOI: 10.1002/ffj.3588 RESEARCH ARTICLE Antifungal and antimycotoxigenic effect of the essential oil of Eremanthus erythropappus on three different Aspergillus species Rafaela Magalhães Brandão 1 | Vanuzia Rodrigues Fernandes Ferreira 1 | Luís Roberto Batista 2 | Eduardo Alves 3 | Nathasha de Azevedo Lira 4 | Barbara Sayuri Bellete 1 | José Roberto Soares Scolforo 5 | Maria das Graças Cardoso 1 1 Departamento de Química, Universidade Federal de Lavras (UFLA), Lavras, Brazil 2 Departamento de Ciência dos Alimentos, Universidade Federal de Lavras (UFLA), Lavras, Brazil 3 Departamento de Fitopatologia, Universidade Federal de Lavras (UFLA), Lavras, Brazil 4 Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Lavras (UFLA), Lavras, Brazil 5 Departamento de Ciências Florestais, Universidade Federal de Lavras (UFLA), Lavras, Brazil Correspondence Maria das Graças Cardoso, Departamento de Química, Universidade Federal de Lavras (UFLA), CEP 37200-000, Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Email: mcardoso@ufla.br Funding information Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais; Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior; Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico Abstract Essential oils can be considered antifungal agents in controlling food contamination, due to their biological potential. Eremanthus erythropappus essential oil (EEO) was extracted by hydrodistillation, and its chemical composition was evaluated by gas chromatography using mass spectrometer (GC-MS) and flame ionization detectors (GC-FID). EEO antifungal and antimycotoxygenic effect was evaluated on differ - ent species of Aspegillus genus. The main component of the EEO was α-bisabolol (98.853%). The essential oil exhibited fungicidal activity at concentrations of 0.98, 15.63, and 15.63 μL/mL against Aspergillus carbonarius, Aspergillus flavus, and Aspergillus ochraceus, respectively. The application of the EEO significantly inhibited ochratoxin A production that ranged from 62.06% to 84.27% and from 68.29% to 98.44% for the fungal species A carbonarius and A ochraceus, respectively, and also inhibited the production qualitatively of aflatoxins B 1 and B 2 . Ergosterol biosynthesis of fungi A carbonarius (76.56%-92.07%), A flavus (81.28%-97.75%), and A ochraceus (47.61%-85.56%) significantly decreased in the presence of EEO. Electromicrographs showed morphological alterations and some damages caused by EEO in the fungal membranes of three fungi species. There was a change in the hyphae uniformity pre- sent in the fungi and also loss of conidia integrity in A carbonarius, and no conidia for- mation in A flavus and A ochraceus, after treatment with the essential oil. Therefore, the results suggested that EEO was capable of inhibit fungal growth, ergosterol bio- synthesis, and the production of mycotoxins that can contaminate food. KEYWORDS aflatoxins, Eremanthus erythropappus, ergosterol, ochratoxin A, α-bisabolol