The antifungal potential of phytochemicals of Linum usitatissimum against Sclerotium rolfsii

Sclerotium rolfsii is a necrotrophic fungus responsible for the development of Southern Blight disease in a variety of host plants such as tomato, sugar beet, legumes, crucifers, and cucurbits. The present research was conducted to determine the in vitro antifungal activity of Linum usitatissimum extracts against the pathogenic fungus Sclerotium rolfsii strain FCBP-PTF-771. To attain this goal, an in vitro antifungal bioassay was performed using a methanolic extract (MeOH) of L. usitatissimum against S. rolfsii. Concentrations of 1.5% and 1.75% exhibited the highest antifungal activity, inhibiting growth up to 80% and 75%, respectively. Bioassay guided-frac­tionation of the MeOH extract was performed using solvents including n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and n-butanol, followed by in vitro analysis of the resulting fractions to confirm the antifungal activity of the most potent fraction. The n-butanol fraction was found to be highly effective at concentrations of 0.4% and 0.6% c and inhibited the growth of the test fungus by approximately 70% and 72%, respectively. Subsequently, the n-butanol fraction was subjected to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), with a total of thirty-seven compounds identified among which benzenedicarboxylic acid was present in the maximum amount. These findings suggest that extracts of L. usitatissimum can be employed as a potent antifungal source against S. rolfsii due to the presence of a vast array of phytochemicals. In addition, the bioactive compounds identified in the n-butanol fraction of this plant contribute to its fungicidal potency.