Inhibition mechanism and antibacterial activity of natural antibacterial agent citral on bamboo mold and its anti- mildew effect on bamboo

Bamboo, a natural material, has been widely used in the fields of
decoration, architecture and furniture. However, bamboo is easy to mildew
and lose its use value. In this paper, inhibition mechanism and
antibacterial activity of natural antibacterial agent citral on bamboo
mold and its anti- mildew effect on bamboo were studied. The results
showed that citral could change the shape of mycelium, destroy the
integrity of mycelium structure, cell wall, and cell membrane structure,
thereby causing leakage of nucleic acid, protein, and other substances in
the cell, as well as destroy the pH balance of the inside and outside of
the cell, to inhibit or kill mold. When the concentration of citral is
100mg/mL, the antibacterial rates of citral against Penicillium citrinum
(PC), Trichoderma viride (TV), Aspergillus niger (AN) and a hybrid fungi
group comprising PC, TV, and AN (Hun) were more than 100%. However,
compared with the direct effect of citral on mold, the antibacterial
property of bamboo treated with citral was significantly reduced, the
mildew proof effect can be achieved only if the concentration of citral to
treat bamboo is increased to more than 2 times of the concentration of
citral directly acting on mold.