Antifungal Activity of Toros Mint Oil on Radial Growth of Penicillium sp.

This research aims to evaluate the antifungal effects of Toros mint oil against Penicillium through in vitro experiments. Penicillium is a fungus commonly found in food and agricultural products and produces mycotoxins, which lead to health and economic issues. Mint oil exhibits antimicrobial, antifungal, and antioxidant properties due to its phytochemicals such as menthol and mentone. The study aims to determine the effects of Toros mint oil on Penicillium and provide effective and environmentally friendly strategies for controlling this microfungus. For this purpose, Penicillium sp. cultures that were 3–5 days old were inoculated onto petri dishes containing 1%, 2%, 5%, and 10% Toros mint oil mixed with PDA (which included 3% dimethyl sulfoxide). After five days of incubation, the diameters of the colonies were measured. The effect of Toros mint oil on Penicillium sp. radial growth was calculated considering the control group. The study was carried out in three replications. The results clearly demonstrate that Toros mint oil exhibits strong inhibitory effects against Penicillium. In studies conducted, Toros mint was observed to provide 46.82% inhibition at a 1% concentration, and as the concentration increases to 2% and above, it achieves 100% inhibition, completely preventing fungal growth. These findings reveal that Toros mint oil possesses significant antifungal effects even at low concentrations, with the potential to completely halt fungal growth at higher levels. This suggests that Toros mint oil could play a crucial role in food preservation strategies and offer solutions to critical issues such as antibiotic resistance. Therefore, Toros mint oil can be considered an effective natural alternative for ensuring food safety and combating pathogens that show resistance to current antimicrobial treatments.