The Potential Application of Antifungal Chitosan Nanoparticles against Fusarium oxysporum Fungus of Cumin

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Research Department, Horticulture Research Institute, Agricultural Research Centre.

2 Biochemistry Dept., Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University.

3 Biochemistry Dept., Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo university.

4 Fungi Diseases Dept. Plant Pathology Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center, Egypt.

10.21608/ejchem.2025.388894.12056

Abstract

Fusarium wilt of cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.), caused by F. oxysporum f.sp. cumini, was observed in young and mature plants throughout cumin-growing regions in southern Egypt. This study aims to determine some phytochemical contents, to synthesize chitosan nanoparticles (CNPs) using Cuminum cyminum oil (CO) and guava leaf extract (GE), to study the effects of different sources of stabilizers (bio-reducer agents) on the rate of synthesis, and to evaluate their antifungal against Fusarium oxysporum and cytotoxicity activities against human cells. CNPs were synthesized using CO and GE as bio-reducer agents and aqueous chitosan solution as precursor at different conditions. The synthesized CNPs were characterized using Dynamic light scattering, Zeta potential, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. In addition, the antifungal activities of CNPs were assessed both in vitro and in vivo. In in vivo experiment, morphological and chemical characters were determined. Nanoparticles characterization results showed that bio-reduction process was fast and the synthesized CNPs were nearly spherical in shape and the size range of 9.71-21.30 nm for CO loaded CNPs while size range of 1.02 – 29.4 nm for GE loaded CNPs. Moreover, GE loaded CNPs was more toxic for F. oxysporium.

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Volume 68, Issue 13 - Serial Number 13
(In Loving Memory of Late Professor Doctor”Zeinab M. Nofal” In progress
December 2025
Pages 145-160
  • Receive Date: 16 July 2025
  • Revise Date: 14 August 2025
  • Accept Date: 08 September 2025