In Vitro Effects of Lemon Balm Extracts in Reducing the Growth and Mycotoxins Biosynthesis of and .

The objectives of this research were to obtain the extracts of lemon balm () using supercritical CO (SC-CO) and methanol as co-solvent and evaluate the antifungal activity of those extracts against two selected strains of species ( and ). The extraction conditions were set at 40 and 60 °C and 250 bar. The obtained extracts were characterized in terms of antifungal activity on potato dextrose agar media (PDA). The results showed that the extraction parameters had different effects on mycelium growth and mycotoxins biosynthesis reduction. All studied lemon balm extracts (1, 2.5, 5, 7.5, and 10%) inhibited the growth of and mycelia compared to the control. The lemon balm extracts significantly reduced ergosterol content and synthesized mycotoxins in both tested strains. These findings support the antifungal activity of lemon balm extracts against and . However, more research on other species is needed, as well as in vivo applications, before considering lemon balm extracts as a natural alternative to synthetic fungicides.