Tarbiat Modares University Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology 1680-7073 18 4 2016 07 01 Chemical Composition and Fungicidal Effects of Ocimum basilicum Essential Oil on Bipolaris and Cochliobolus Species 1143 1152 15921 EN E. A. Elsherbiny Plant Pathology Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Mansoura University, Mansoura 35516, Egypt. A. Y. El-Khateeb Agricultural Chemistry Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Mansoura University, Mansoura 35516, Egypt. N. Azzaz Agricultural Chemistry Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Damietta University, Damietta, Egypt. Journal Article The fungus <em>Cochliobolus</em> is the teleomorph of <em>Bipolaris</em> and <em>Curvularia</em> which are economically important plant pathogens worldwide. Several species of <em>Bipolaris</em> are well documented human pathogens. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of the essential oil of <em>Ocimum basilicum</em> against some <em>Bipolaris </em>and <em>Cochliobolus</em> species. Sixteen compounds, representing 95.4% of the chemical components of the essential oil of <em>Ocimum basilicum</em>, were identified by Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). The main compounds were estragole (55.95%), 1,8-Cineole (10.56%), methyl eugenol (10.09%) and linalool (5.57%). Aromatic oxygenated monoterpenes (57.42%) were the dominant constituents of the essential oil followed by oxygenated monoterpenes (16.13%) and sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (6.9%). The essential oil exhibited a complete inhibition of the growth of <em>Bipolaris ellisii, Bipolaris hawaiensis</em>, <em>Bipolaris spicifera,</em> <em>Cochliobolus australiensis</em> and<em>Cochliobolus cynodontis</em> at 80 mg/mL and fungicidal effect on <em>Cochliobolus australiensis</em> only at the same concentration after six and twelve days of exposure. Spore germination and germ tube elongation of <em>B. hawaiensis</em> were completely inhibited by the essential oil (at 40 mg/mL) and <em>B. spicifera</em> (at 80 mg/mL) with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values ranging from 40 to 160 mg/mL. These results suggest that the essential oil of <em>Ocimum basilicum</em> is a potential and promising antifungal tool for controlling plant and human fungal pathogens. https://jast.modares.ac.ir/article_15921_e118e7875ed89dc4496e785655eddd0e.pdf