Citronellol has significant antifungal activity and is expected to become an active ingredient in botanical fungicides

Citronellol, also known as vanillyl alcohol, is a natural organic compound that appears as a colorless oily liquid under normal conditions. Citronellol is mainly derived from plant extracts such as citronella grass and citronella oil. Its chemical structure is similar to that of ethanol. It has a refreshing taste and mild fragrance. Citronellol has strong pollution to water bodies and may bring certain environmental pressure during production and use.

The main raw material of citronellol is citronella grass. Citronella, also known as lemongrass, has growth habits that like light, warmth, drought resistance, raininess, and low soil environment requirements. Citronella grass is native to Southeast Asia and is now widely cultivated in Hainan, Guangdong, Taiwan and other regions of my country. Lemongrass has a long history of use. It is a traditional edible spice and medicinal material in my country, India, Thailand and other places, and its market size is large.

According to the “2023-2028 China Citronellol Industry Market In-depth Research and Development Prospects Forecast Report released by the Industrial Research Center, Citronellol occurs naturally in a variety of plants and is an active ingredient that produces pleasant aromas and flavors in fruits such as grapes. Citronellol is mainly used in daily chemicals, medicine and cosmetics and other fields. In the field of daily chemicals, citronellol is widely used in soaps, shampoos, shower gels and other products, giving the products a unique aroma; in the field of medicine, citronellol has pharmacological effects such as antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and analgesic, and is used It is used to make ointments and oral medicines; in the field of cosmetics, citronellol is used as a flavoring agent and moisturizer to enhance the texture and quality of the product. In recent years, as residents’ demand for natural and green products has grown, the citronellol industry has developed further.

In recent years, adverse effects such as environmental pollution, pesticide residues, and bacterial resistance caused by chemical agents have gradually attracted social attention. Compared with chemical agents, biological control reagents have the advantages of being safer for the human body and more friendly to the ecological environment. They are currently the most popular pesticides. research hotspots in the field. Among them, the main method of biological control is to use some natural fungicides with antibacterial activity, such as plant extracts or plant secondary metabolites to suppress diseases. Citronellol has significant antifungal activity and can kill fungal conidia even when the purity is low. It has strong inhibitory effect on fungal diseases such as Aspergillus niger and Alternaria alternata, but it will not affect plant quality. Negative impact. Industry analysts said that citronellol has the potential to be incorporated into biological control methods and become an active ingredient in botanical fungicides.

At present, the main process for industrial production of citronellol is chemical synthesis. Depending on the raw materials used, chemical production of citronellol can be divided into five methods: hydrogenation of citronellal with Raney nickel catalyst; hydrogenation and fractionation of geraniol; Obtained by partial hydrogenation of a mixture of leaf alcohol and nerolidol; produced by reacting isopropyl alcohol with barium-activated copper subarborate under pressure at 180°C; made from optically active pinene. Among them, the third and fourth methods have the highest yields, which can reach 90%.