The effect of viroid infection of citrus trees on the amoebicidal activity of 'Maltese half-blood' (Citrus sinensis) against trophozoite stage of Acanthamoeba castellanii Neff.

In order to promote a local Tunisian product, this study was designed to examine, for the first time, the anti-Acanthamoeba activity (Acanthamoeba castellanii Neff) of the essential oils of Tunisian Citrus sinensis peels (Maltese half-blood) and the effect of viroid plant infection on this activity. To do so, three samples of peels' essential oils were studied: from a healthy plant (Control), a plant inoculated with Citrus exocortis viroid (CEVd) and one inoculated with hot stunt cachexia viroid (HSVd). The samples were extracted by hydrodistillation from dried peels and characterized by GC-MS.