Helichrysum italicum (Roth) G. Don - Essential Oil Composition and Activity on Tobacco Mosaic Virus Infection

Chemical composition and antiphytoviral activity of essential oil were investigated in the aerial parts of Helichrysum italicum (Roth) G. Don (Asteraceae) growing wild in Croatia. Thirty nine compounds, representing 91.1% of the total oil, were identified. GC-MS analyses of the oil revealed presence of α-pinene (30.1%), neryl acetate (17.2%), β-curcumene (10.3%), γ-curcumene (6.4%) and (E)-caryophyllene (4.9%) as the most abundant components. Local host plants treated with essential oil of H. italicum prior to inoculation of tobacco mosaic virus showed delay in the development and strong reduction of lesions in the early stage of infection.