Antifungal Properties of Cape Ivy (Delairea Odorata) and Its Potential to Prevent Post Harvest Decay

Significant amounts of food produced in developing countries are lost through post-harvest decay, which aggrevates world hunger. Moreover food is wasted in developed countries because concern for human and environmental health has reduced use of synthetic fungicides. Cape ivy (Delairea odorata) is a South African Asteraceae and an invasive plant in many countries. The objective of this study is to investigate the antifungal properties of D. odorata and evaluate its potential to prevent post-harvest decay. Aqueous extracts of leaves, stems, and roots (333 mg/mL) were prepared. Extracts were filtered through Whatman No. 589/1 filter paper. An agar-diffusion assay was used to screen for inhibition. Aqueous extracts of all plant parts inhibited Aspergillus niger and Saccharomyces cerevisiae fungi. The fungistatic and fungicidal concentrations are being determined. Strawberries inoculated with A. niger or S. cerevisiae will be treated with an aqueous plant extract to determine whether there is significant inhibition of fungi on fruit. These results are an important step to developing alternatives to expensive and toxic synthetic fungicides.