OICC Press Trends in Phytochemical Research 2588-3631 5 2 2021 06 01 Inhibitory effect of cinnamon (Cinnamomum tamala (Buch.-Ham.) T.Nees & Eberm.) essential oil and its aldehyde constituents on growth and spore germination of phytopathogenic fungi 62 70 EN Deepa Bisht Department of Botany, MBPG College, Haldwani, Kumaun University, Nainital, Uttarakhand, India |IORA-RCSTT Coordination Centre on Medicinal Plants (ICCMP), CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Lucknow - 226015 Arvind Saroj Department of Plant Pathology, CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP), Lucknow - 226 015, India Anjala Durgapal Department of Botany, MBPG College, Haldwani, Kumaun University, Nainital, Uttarakhand, India C.S. Chanotiya Laboratory of Aromatic Plants and Chiral Separation, CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP), Lucknow - 226 015, India Abdul Samad Department of Plant Pathology, CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP), Lucknow - 226 015, India Journal Article 2021 06 01 Plant pathogens lead to severe damage of the agricultural crops, worldwide. The disease management is currently being done by the synthetic chemicals. In the present report, Cinnamomum tamala (Buch.-Ham.) T. Nees & Eberm. oil was analyzed by gas chromatography-FID and GC/MS, which revealed (E)-cinnamaldehyde (40.6%), (E)-cinnamyl acetate (19.6%), linalool (10.2%) and benzaldehyde (3.6%) as marker constituents. Contact, volatile and spore germination inhibition assays were performed to determine the antifungal activities of Cinnamomum tamala (Buch.-Ham.) T.Nees & Eberm. against Rhizoctonia solani AG 4, Choanephora cucurbitarum and Bipolaris australiensis. C. tamala oil 500-560 ppm showed complete fungal growth inhibition in poison food technique over concentration range of. Solid-phase microextraction analysis of drop diffusion assay revealed the presence of benzaldehyde in headspace of Petri-plate, and found to be one of the strongest antifungal compounds against tested phytopathogens. Similarly, an oil concentration of 500 ppm inhibits spore germination. Therefore, products containing such compositions can be used for the plant diseases management.