ABSTRACT
Botrytis cinerea is the phytopathogenic fungus responsible for the gray mold disease that affects crops worldwide. Essential oils (EOs) have emerged as a sustainable tool to reduce the adverse impact of synthetic fungicides. Nevertheless, the scarce information about the physiological mechanism action and the limitations to applying EOs has restricted its use. This study focused on elucidating the physiological action mechanisms and prospection of lipid nanoparticles to apply EO of Mentha piperita. The results showed that the EO of M. piperita at 500, 700, and 900⯵Lâ¯L-1 inhibited the mycelial growth at 100â¯%. The inhibition of spore germination of B. cinerea reached 31.43â¯% at 900⯵Lâ¯L-1. The EO of M. piperita decreased the dry weight and increased pH, electrical conductivity, and cellular material absorbing OD260â¯nm of cultures of B. cinerea. The fluorescence technique revealed that EO reduced hyphae width, mitochondrial activity, and viability, and increased ROS production. The formulation of EO of M. piperita loaded- solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) at 500, 700, and 900⯵Lâ¯L-1 had particle size â¼ 200â¯nm, polydispersity index < 0.2, and stability. Also, the thermogravimetric analysis indicated that the EO of M. piperita-loaded SLN has great thermal stability at 50 °C. EO of M. piperita-loaded SLN reduced the mycelial growth of B. cinerea by 70â¯%, while SLN formulation (without EO) reached 42â¯% inhibition. These results supported that EO of M. piperita-loaded SLN is a sustainable tool for reducing the disease produced by B. cinerea.