Essential Oil of Lepidium virginicum: Protective Activity on Anthracnose Disease and Preservation Effect on the Nutraceutical Content of Tamarillo Fruit (Solanum betaceum)

The essential oil from the annual plant Lepidium virginicum L. was chemically characterized in three consecutive years (2018–2020). The essential oils were evaluated in vitro and in situ on the causal agent of anthracnose in tamarillo fruits (Solanum betaceum). The main volatile constituents were phenylacetonitrile (>60 %), linalool (>10 %), limonene (>7 %) and α‐terpineol (>5 %). The essential oil (MIC, 19–30 μg mL−1), phenylacetonitrile (MIC, 45 μg mL−1) and α‐terpineol (MIC, 73 μg mL−1) caused a significant inhibition in the conidial viability from a wild strain of Colletotrichum acutatum, which was isolated and identified as a causal agent of anthracnose. The inoculation of conidia from C. acutatum in non‐symptomatic tamarillo fruits, followed by the in situ treatment with different concentrations of the essential oil (>30 μg mL−1), phenylacetonitrile and α‐terpineol, significantly (p