article · Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery
Fennel plant biomass from both leaves and umbels was processed using hydrodistillation to extract essential oils for chemical characterisation and antifungal evaluation. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry revealed that anethole, estragole, and D-limonene formed the primary chemical constituents in both plant parts, though in varying proportions. Infrared spectroscopy confirmed the presence of multiple functional groups, including alkenes, alcohols, and phenols. In laboratory bioassays, the extracted oils demonstrated substantial growth inhibition against the plant pathogenic fungi Alternaria solani and Fusarium oxysporum at concentrations of 5000 mg/L, with umbel-derived oil consistently displaying higher potency than leaf oil. Additionally, quantum mechanical modelling explored the molecular geometry and reactive behaviour of the key identified compounds to better understand their chemical properties.
Plant-derived essential oils represent potential natural alternatives to synthetic fungicides for controlling destructive fungal crop pathogens. Understanding the specific chemical composition and bioactivity of fennel biomass extracts helps pinpoint which active compounds inhibit common agricultural fungi such as Alternaria solani and Fusarium oxysporum, supporting the development of plant-based protective agents.
The findings point towards applications in agricultural crop protection and prospective medical treatments targeting fungal growth. Potential users include biopesticide manufacturers, agricultural chemical producers, and botanical pharmaceutical developers. The technology remains at an early, laboratory-based stage, having demonstrated in vitro antifungal bioassays and theoretical molecular modelling without formulation trials, field testing, or established production pathways.
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Abstract In the present study, the biomass produced by fennel plants ( Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) was converted to yield bioactive chemicals, and the hydrodistillation method was used to extract the essential oils (EOs) from both the leaves and the umbels. The antifungal activity of the EOs was tested using bioassay against the development of Fusarium oxysporum MW854649 and Alternaria solani MT279570. Molecular spectroscopic detection techniques were used to evaluate the EO products using gas chromatography–mass spectrometer (GC–MS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). GC–MS equipped with single quadruple analyzers have been used to measure the electron ionization (EI) mass spectra of the primary constituents of fennel EOs at 70 eV. The main chemical compounds in the EO from leaves were anethole, estragole, D-limonene, trans-β-ocimene, and fenchone, with percentages of 37.94, 35.56, 17.46, 1.53, and 1.49%, respectively. The abundant compounds in the EO from umbels were estragole, anethole, D-limonene, fenchone, and γ-terpinene, with percentages of 51.18, 25.08, 12.22, 6.57, and 2.86%, respectively. EI mass spectral fragmentation of the major compounds D-limonene, estragole, anethole, and fenchone has been investigated. Umbels and leaf EOs at 5000 mg/L displayed the strongest suppression of fungal growth against A. solani , with values of 87.78% and 79.63%, respectively, compared to the positive control (94.44%). The EOs from umbels and leaves at 5000 mg/L showed the highest inhibition of fungal growth against F. oxysprium as compared to the positive control (94.44%), with values of 77.77% and 72.96%, respectively. All of the important ions—including a few distinctive fragment ions—have comprehensive fragmentation pathways defined. Based on EI, the main routes of fragmentation for the primary compounds have been identified. The existence of alkenes, aliphatic alcohols, ethers, carboxylic acids, ester compounds, alkanes, hydrogen-bonded alcohols, and phenols was demonstrated by the FTIR analysis of fennel EOs. On the other hand, the reactive behavior of the studied molecules has been investigated using two quantum mechanics method: the modified neglect of diatomic overlap (MNDO), a semi-empirical method, and the density functional theory (DFT)/B3LYP hybrid density functional method with the 6-311G (d, p) basis set in the ground state for gas phase. The optimum geometries have been obtained through the execution of computations and electrostatic potential. The obtained analytical and calculated results were then used to understand the activity of the studied EOs in further medical applications.
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DOI: 10.1007/s13399-024-05675-2
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