antifungal-resistance
Antifungal resistance occurs when fungal pathogens evolve mechanisms to survive exposure to compounds that would normally inhibit or kill them, reducing the effectiveness of chemical and natural fungicides over time. This phenomenon is critical in plant science because fungal pathogens pose major threats to crop health and agricultural yields, driving researchers to explore plant-derived essential oils and bioactive compounds as alternative or complementary strategies to combat resistant fungal strains.
open_in_new WikipediaPubMed · 2026-07-09
Researchers propose a structured framework for replacing synthetic antifungals in livestock feed with plant-derived compounds like thymol, cinnamaldehyde, and curcumin. By targeting fungi through five simultaneous biological pathways, these plant extracts make resistance evolution far less likely than single-drug treatments, while scoring tools help producers select and combine them for real-world use.
60-80% of global feed commodities are contaminated by toxin-producing fungi, causing multi-billion-dollar losses annually through animal illness, reduced productivity, and food chain carry-over.
Engaging five simultaneous antifungal mechanisms (membrane disruption, mycotoxin-gene silencing, oxidative stress, enzyme interference, and signal-transduction blockade) makes resistance evolution geometrically less probable than single-target synthetic drugs.
Six plant compounds scored highest on a six-criteria readiness model: thymol (thyme), eugenol (cloves), cinnamaldehyde (cinnamon), citral (lemongrass), curcumin (turmeric), and resveratrol (grapes).
