Antifungal activity of Cymbopogon citratus essential oil against Aspergillus flavus

The search for alternatives for the control of microbiological contamination in foods has been the object of study in different scientific areas. This study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus) essential oil in controlling the growth of the fungus Aspergillus flavus in three types of analysis: first, by in vitro tests, in essential oil doses between 0.2 and 1.0 μL/ml; second, by serial microdilution to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration, in doses between 0.1 and 1.2 μL/mL; and third, by inhibition of fungal growth in corn kernels contaminated using essential oil doses of 0.4, 0.7, and 1.0 μL/mL, in the incubation times of 14, 28, and 42 days. The in vitro tests showed that the essential oil controlled the fungus from doses of 0.6 μL/mL, but the dose of 1.0 μL/mL controlled 100% growth until day eight of incubation, from which it decreased. The minimum inhibitory concentration for the microdilution analysis was 0.9 μL/mL. The evaluation of the corn kernels for all doses of essential oil and times tested showed 100% inhibition of the fungal growth