Fresh loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.) fruits easily lose their marketability because of fungal spoilage, browning, and weight loss after harvest. The use of essential oils as postharvest treatment is a talented alternative to fungicides mainly because of their ability to reduce respiration and transpiration of the fresh fruits during storage. However, the postharvest studies with the volatiles of essential oils are limited. The present study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of volatile essential oils of myrtle (Myrtus communis L.) leaves for preserving the postharvest storability of loquat fruits. Test fruits of the present study were exposed to 5 different treatments, which are (i) water vapor (2min), (ii) myrtle leaves (3 w/w), (iii) myrtle leaf vapor (2min), (iv) myrtle leaf vapor (10min), and (v) untreated control. A total of 30 compounds were isolated from the essential oil, and the three highest amounts of compounds were determined as eucalyptol (39.38), α-pinene (24.98), and linalool (8.18). Exposure to myrtle leaves (3 w/w) and myrtle leaf vapor (2min) was also noted to provide higher efficacy for reducing the weight loss, decay incidence, and browning index.

In the present study, Salvia fruticosa and Salvia aramiensis essential oils’ chemical composition was compared, and their in vitro antimicrobial activity was tested against Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Candida albicans and Candida parapsilosis. The major compounds of S. fruticosa oil were eucalyptol (29.04%) and camphor (21.32%). Major components of S. aramiensis essential oil were eucalyptol (59.51%) and β-pinene (20.03%). The antimicrobial activities of essential oils were investigated by using disc diffusion and spectrophotometric broth micro-dilution methods. The highest inhibition zone diameter of S. aramiensis was found at 10.2 mm against C. albicans while the low inhibition zones (IZ) were on E. coli and B. subtilis (0.1 mm). Whereas the highest IZs of S. fruticosa was 8.38 for C. parapsilosis, the lowest IZs were 0.1 mm for E. coli, K. pneumoniae and B. subtilis by disc diffusion method (P˂0.05). The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of S. aramiensis and S. fruticosa EOs ranged from 56.2 to 146 μg/mL for all pathogens (P˂0.05). As a result, the antimicrobial efficacy of S. aramiensis on S. aureus and C. parapsilosis was demonstrated for the first time in this study, furthermore, both essential oils were found to be more effective against studied fungi rather than bacteria.