Inhibitory activity of the peel and seed of <i>Annona cherimola</i> Mill. against <i>Fusarium</i> and <i>Aspergillus</i> pathogens

The food industry plays a critical role in waste production, and new studies that propose innovative uses to bio-residue are of high importance. Annona cherimola Mill., also known as custard apple and cherimoya, has been described as a powerful source of bioactive compounds with various applications, such as antifungal applications. Fungal infection can lead to crop productivity limitation, product contamination, and food loss. This work evaluates the antifungal action of Annona cherimola Mill. oils against Fusarium oxysporum and Aspergillus niger. The oils were extracted from peel and seeds of 8 different A. cherimola varieties exclusive to Madeira Island (Portugal) and tested for their antifungal potential. This fruit waste was tested, using two different growth measurement methods. The extracted oils restricted the fungi growth, providing the first insights on antifungal properties of the varieties waste. Between the tested tissues, peel oils exhibited a slight better action over F. oxysporum than seed oils. Overall colony expansion of F. oxysporum was better controlled by custard apple oils than A. niger. Anis exhibited distinctive action against A. niger and Funchal, Perry Vidal, Matteus, and Dona Mécia controlled better F. oxysporum growth, suggesting phytochemical differences between them. There is no previous research on the biowaste oil extracts from Annona varieties found in Madeira Island and their properties against pathogens. This study successfully opened new insights on these varieties and the results exposed interesting properties that deserve further research.