Cuminaldehyde (CA) has a strong antimicrobial activity against an array of pathogens. In this study, its growth inhibitory effect on a wild type strain (Pds01) and an imazalil-resistant strain (Pdw03) of Penicillium digitatum, the causative agent of postharvest green mold in citrus fruit was examined. CA strongly inhibited mycelial growth of both strains with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 0.3 mL L^-1 and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) of 0.6 mL L^-1. In vivo assays revealed that wax + CA (WCA, 10 × MFC) treatment could significantly reduce green mold incidence in Ponkan fruit incubated with P. digitatum. After 5 d of incubation, the disease incidence of 10 × MFC WCA treated fruit was 65.0 ± 3.4 % for Pds01 and 50.0 ± 2.1 % for Pdw03 which were much lower than the corresponding values in the control samples. The antifungal activity was attributed to activation of massive oxidative stress, as evidenced by the accumulation of reactive oxygen species, increased lipid peroxidation, damage to plasma membrane permeability of hyphal cells, leakage of intracellular components and eventual cell death. The imazalil-resistant strain was more susceptible to the damaging effect of CA than the wild type strain. Collectively, our present results suggest that CA may potentially be a new antifungal drug molecule for the control of postharvest green mold in citrus fruit.

孜然醛 (CA) 对多种病原体具有很强的抗菌活性。本研究考察了其对柑橘果实采后绿色霉菌的致病菌指青霉野生型菌株（Pds01）和抑霉唑抗性菌株（Pdw03）的生长抑制作用。^{CA以0.3 mL L -1的最小抑制浓度（MIC）和0.6 mL L -1}的最小杀真菌浓度（MFC）强烈抑制两种菌株的菌丝体生长。体内试验表明，蜡 + CA (WCA, 10 × MFC) 处理可以显着降低与P. digitatum孵育的椴果的绿霉病发生率. 孵化 5 d 后，10 × MFC WCA 处理的果实 Pds01 和 Pdw03 的病害发生率为 65.0 ± 3.4 % 和 50.0 ± 2.1 %，远低于对照样品中的相应值。抗真菌活性归因于大量氧化应激的激活，如活性氧的积累、脂质过氧化增加、菌丝细胞质膜通透性受损、细胞内成分泄漏和最终细胞死亡所证明的那样。与野生型菌株相比，抗抑霉唑菌株更容易受到 CA 的破坏作用。总的来说，我们目前的结果表明，CA 可能是一种新的抗真菌药物分子，用于控制柑橘类水果采后绿色霉菌。