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Zingiber officinale Roscoe is an herbal plant native to Asia that can be found in all tropical countries. It is used in folk medicine, food, and cosmetics. A chemical characterization and some agronomic experiments have been carried out on Z. officinale essential oil, showing promising findings for the biological control of fungal pathogens belonging to the genus Fusarium. The aim of this review is to collect and update the literature covering its phytochemistry and biological activities as a Fusarium spp. plant-based biocide. The present research was conducted using the following bibliographic databases: Scifinder, Pubmed, and Science Direct. Thirteen papers were selected based on the adopted criteria. Data were independently extracted by the three authors of this work, and the final article selections were completed in a manner that avoided the duplication of data. The main chemical compounds were α-zingiberene, geranial, and aryl-curcumene, but a remarkable difference was found concerning the chemical compositions. Z. officinale essential oil was shown to possess promising biological functions against Fusarium spp. These findings offer new research approaches and potential applications as a biocontrol ingredient for Z. officinale essential oil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peppermint (Mentha × piperita L) is a perennial, glabrous and strongly scented herb belongs to the family Lamiaceae. It is cultivated in a temperate region of Europe, Asia, United States, India and Mediterranean countries due to their commercial value and distinct aroma. In addition to traditional food flavouring uses, M. × piperita is well recognized for their traditional use to treat fever, cold, digestive, anti-viral, anti-fungal and oral mucosa and throat inflammation. The scientific studies provide awareness on the use of M. × piperita for biological effects such as anti-oxidant, anti-microbial, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, biopesticidal, larvicidal, anticancer, radioprotective effect, genotoxicity and anti-diabetic activity have been ascribed. A wide spectrum of bioactive phytochemicals such as flavonoids, phenolics lignans and stilbenes and essential oils are expected to be responsible for the aroma effects. In this sense, this present review provides an extensive overview of the traditional medicinal, phytochemical and multiple biological activities of this "Peppermint." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]