Antifungal Activity and GC–MS profiling of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) seed extracts against Alternaria alternata and Fusarium oxysporum associated with In Vitro micropropagation

Lina kadhim Awad, Muntaha Jawad Kadhim

Abstract


Fungal contamination is a major challenge in date palm micropropagation. This study characterized the chemical profiles of alcoholic seed extracts from four date palm cultivars and evaluated their in vitro antifungal activity against Alternaria alternata and Fusarium oxysporum. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) identified 131 compounds, with cultivar-dependent variations in chemical composition. Barhi contained the highest number of identified compounds (52), whereas Maktoom contained the lowest (18). Six compounds were common to all cultivars, and fatty acid ethyl esters were the predominant chemical class. Ethyl oleate was the most abundant common compound, while DDMP accounted for 12.01% and 7.84% of the matched peak area in Shukr and Khadrawi, respectively, but was absent from Barhi and Maktoom. Three-way analysis of variance revealed significant effects of cultivar, extract concentration, fungal species, and their interactions on mycelial growth inhibition (P < 0.01). Mean inhibition was highest for Maktoom (65.28%), followed by Shukr (39.12%), Khadrawi (35.65%), and Barhi (29.80%). Inhibition increased with extract concentration, reaching 54.50% at 15 mg/mL. Maktoom extract at 15 mg/mL produced the highest inhibition against F. oxysporum (80.37%) and A. alternata (77.60%). The cultivar ranking (Maktoum > Shukr > Khadrawi > Barhi) for antifungal activity corresponded descriptively with ethyl oleate abundance, although causality was not established. These findings highlight Maktoom seed extract as a promising candidate for further investigation as a potential antifungal treatment for managing fungal contamination in date palm micropropagation. Validation under tissue culture conditions and assessment of phytotoxicity are required.


Keywords


Micropropagation, Antifungal activity, Date palm seed extracts, GC–MS profiling, Alternaria alternate, Fusarium oxysporum

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References


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DOI: https://doi.org/10.33804/pp.010.05.6257

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