Antifungal activity of essential oils of Rosmarinus officinalis and Corymbia citriodora in the control of Aspergillus flavus and Penicillium rubens

The objective was to evaluate the in vitro fungicidal effect of essential oils of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis Linn. - Lamiaceae), eucalyptus (Corymbia citriodora (Hook.) Hill & Johnson - Myrtaceae) on the fungi Aspergillus flavus and Penicillium rubens. This is an experimental study, in vitro. As a result, it was observed that the essential oil of C. citriodora at a concentration of 1000 µL mL-1 was more effective than the others in controlling A. flavus. For P. rubens, both essential oils were effective. The linear regression analysis showed that each 1 µL of C. citriodora essential oil applied reduced the growth of the P. rubens fungus by 0.047 mm, and each 1 µL of rosemary (R. officinalis) essential oil reduced the growth of the fungus by 0.043 mm. For A. flavus, this dose of R. officinalis reduced fungal growth by 0.022 mm, while C. citriodora reduced it by 0.032 mm.