## 4 Conclusions  
_Spirulina_ and pomegranate peel extracts alone and in combination were chemically characterized and then evaluated for their antifungal activities against _Fusarium_, _Aspergillus_ and _Alternaria_ genera. Correlations between these antifungal activities and phytochemical content were evaluated. The results showed that the combination between _Spirulina_ at 75% and pomegranate peel at 25% (S3) have a significant impact (\(p<0.05\)) on the antifungal activity compared to S1, S2 and S4. Finally, Pearson correlation demonstrated that S3 polyphenols were mostly responsible for tested antimycotoxigenic and antiphytopathogenic fungal properties. Therefore, bioactive molecules of _Spirulina_ and pomegranate peel combination could be used as a safe method against plant pathogenic fungi. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work reporting the combination of algae and a plant by-product to enhance the antifungal activity.  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c} \hline
**Fungi Strains** & & **TPC** & **TFC** & **TAC** \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{_F. oxysporum_ CTM10402} & S1 & \(-0.700\)* & \(0.006\) & \(-0.708\)* \\  & S2 & \(0.673\)* & \(0.687\)* & \(-0.172\) \\  & S3 & \(0.878\)** & \(0.408\) & \(-0.675\)* \\  & S4 & \(0.723\)* & \(0.088\) & \(-0.622\)* \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{_F. culmorum_ ISPAVE 21w} & S1 & \(-0.774\)* & \(0.640\) & \(\mathbf{-0.861}\)** \\  & S2 & \(0.763\)* & \(0.641\)* & \(-0.259\) \\  & S3 & \(\mathbf{0.878}\)** & \(0.408\) & \(-0.675\)* \\  & S4 & \(\mathbf{0.956}\)** & \(0.457\) & \(-0.664\)* \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{_F. graminearum_ ISPAVE 271} & S1 & \(-0.809\)* & \(0.268\) & \(-0.756\)* \\  & S2 & \(0.652\)* & \(\mathbf{0.983}\)** & \(-0.335\) \\  & S3 & \(\mathbf{0.994}\)** & \(0.809\)* & \(-0.747\)* \\  & S4 & \(0.681\)* & \(0.760\)* & \(-0.157\) \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{_A. niger_ CTM 10099} & S1 & \(-0.732\)* & \(0.595\) & \(-0.837\)* \\  & S2 & \(0.738\)* & \(\mathbf{0.878}\)** & \(-0.404\) \\ \cline{1-1}  & S3 & \(0.700\)* & \(\mathbf{0.981}\)** & \(-0.743\)* \\ \cline{1-1}  & S4 & \(0.670\)* & \(0.726\)* & \(-0.664\)* \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{_A. alternata_ CTM 10230} & S1 & \(-0.758\)* & \(0.311\) & \(-0.700\)* \\ \cline{1-1}  & S2 & \(0.752\)* & \(\mathbf{0.983}\)** & \(-0.335\) \\ \cline{1-1}  & S3 & \(\mathbf{0.923}\)** & \(0.758\)* & \(-0.284\) \\ \cline{1-1}  & S4 & \(\mathbf{0.904}\)** & \(0.657\)* & \(-0.534\) \\ \hline \end{tabular}  
* *: \(p<0.05\); **: \(p<0.01\); Notes: The most significant loadings are highlighted in bold.  
\end{table}
Table 4: Pearson’s correlation coefficients between the antimicrobial (antibacterial and antifungal) activity and the phytochemical contents.  
**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, H.B.H. and T.B.; methodology, H.B.H.; software, S.S.; validation, S.A., P.M., A.O. and L.M.; formal analysis, H.B.H.; investigation, M.K.; resources, T.B.; data curation, M.K. and S.S.; writing--original draft preparation, H.B.H. and S.S.; writing--review and editing, H.B.H.; supervision, P.M., S.A., A.O. and L.M.; project administration, T.B.  
**Funding:** This research received no external funding  
**Acknowledgments:** This project is carried out in part under the MOBIDOC scheme, funded by the EU through the EMORI program and managed by the ANPR.  
**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.