Control of postharvest fungal contamination in rice seeds and cherries using <i>Eucalyptus camaldulensis</i> essential oil and modified sweet potato starch

The aim of this study was to develop eucalyptus essential oil (EO) and modified starch-based food preservation system. EO was extracted from eucalyptus leaves and chemically characterized by gas chromatography and mass spectrometer (GCMS). Starch was extracted from low-grade sweet potatoes and after modification combined with EO to formulate active coating to control the fungal contamination in cherries. Moreover, EO was also used to control fungal contamination in rice seeds artificially inoculated with fungal spores. GCMS analysis of EO revealed eucalyptol (60.159%) as the predominant component. Eucalyptus EO showed complete radial growth inhibition of <i>Aspergillus niger</i> and <i>Penicillium griseofulvum</i> at 25 μl/ml. After a storage of 5 days, cherries coated with the combination of EO (3%) and modified starch (3.3%) showed significantly low (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.05) fungal contamination (40%) in comparison to control (95.5%). Eucalyptus EOs have natural preservative potential and can be used to preserve fresh food produce.