## 4 Discussion  
The occurrence of filamentous fungi and their toxic metabolites in food and feed has become one of the biggest global problems [32]. _Fusarium_ fungi and mycotoxins constitute a significant negative factor in food production, due to the infestation of economically important cereal crops and adverse effects on human and animal health [33]. Therefore, providing a suitable amount of good quality and safe food with respect to environmental conditions is one of the priority goals in modern food production, especially at the agricultural stage [34]. There are many concepts focused on the issue of sustainable, eco-friendly food production, such as sustainable agriculture development [35], One Health concept [36] or Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) [34]. Among various methods currently used to reduce the presence of fungi and mycotoxins in food, such as physical, chemical, biological methods or good agotechnical practices [37; 38], more emphasis is placed on biological methods, especially in the context of limiting the use of pesticides in agriculture production [39]. Many data indicate the high potential of natural substances of plant origin as biological control agents, such as EOs, which are regarded as efficient, safe, environmentally friendly factors [40]. In this research, three EOs in different concentrations were tested as biological control agents against _Fusarium graminearum_ growth and mycotoxin synthesis in maize and wheat grain. The presented work shows a different approach to estimating the influence of EOs on fungal growth under in vitro conditions: volatilization influence on a Petri dish and chromatographic analyses of ERG in cereal grains, as well as level of DON and ZEA reduc  
Figure 6: Effects of EOs on DON contamination in maize and wheat samples after inoculation with the _F. graminearum_. nd-not detected, below the limit of quantification (<0.01 \(\upmu\)g/g). Averages with different letters (a–e) for each cereal are significantly different at the \(p\) < 0.05.  
tion in maize and wheat grain using the HPLC method, were estimated. Additionally, the effects of EOs on fungal hyphae were investigated using fluorescent microscope analysis. The conducted research showed that the EOs used exhibit antagonistic activity against _F. graminearum_ and also reduce levels of DON and ZEA in wheat and maize grain. Better results were observed for the higher concentrations of EOs (10% and 5%), and cinnamon and verbena EOs were more effective than palmarosa. Antifungal activity was strongly dependent on the EO composition. Cinnamon (_Cinnamomum zeyalnicum_) is a spice collected from the bark of several trees from the genus _Cinnamomum_ and _Lauraceae_ family. The oil from cinnamon bark oil is rich in eugenol, cinnamaldehyde, and linalool. It is also rich in \(\beta\)-caryophyllene and other terpen. The antifungal properties of cinnamon EOs have been reported as effective against pathogenic _Fusarium culmorum_ and _Fusarium verticilloides_[22], _Aspergillus flavus_ and _Fusarium moniliforme_[41], and _Villosicalva virens_. Additionally, cinnamon water filtrate has been tested as an antifungal _Botrytis cinerea_ agent [42], and cinnamon oil nanoemulsion has been reported to have an inhibitory effect on the mycelial growth of _Aspergillus niger_[43]. Lemon verbena is a perennial flowering plant of the verbena family (_Verbenaaceae_). Its EOs have been reported to have antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. The most constituent compounds of verbena are geranial, neral, limonene, 1,8-cineole, spathulenol, nerol, geraniol, _trans_-\(\beta\)-caryophyllene, and geranyl acetate. According to researchers' findings, these components act as fumigants, insect repellents, or insecticides [44]. Moreover, the antimicrobial properties of verbena EOs have been reported as effective against the pathogens _Shigella dysenteriae_, _Salmonella typhimurium_, _Pseudomonas aeruginosa_[45], _F. avenaceum_, _F. culmorum_, _F. graminearum_, and _F. oxysporum_[46].