AbstractFungal deterioration is one of the most serious risks for books and paper-based documents in archives. A wide screening for fungi contamination in historic books was conducted by the National Records and Archives, Tanta, Egypt. A large percentage (59.3%) of the screened books showed fungal contamination and deterioration. In this study, the fumes released by smoldering plant species were evaluated for their antifungal activity against isolated fungal species taken from historical documents. Most of the examined plant fumes showed strong antifungal activity as expressed by their minimal inhibitory relative amounts (MIRA),

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The diurnal changes in proline and water contents of Zygophyllum quatarense and Francoeuria crispa were investigated under desert conditions. In both plants, the proline content was low before sunrise amounting to 10.42 μmoles/g fresh weight in Zygophyllum and 6.3 μmoles/g fresh weight in Francoeuria. By the progress of the day and the intensification of the evaporative power of the atmosphere, the proline content increased considerably in the two plants. The proline content reached maximal values at 5 p.m., reaching 23.36 μmoles/g in Zygophyllum and 11.16 μmoles/g in Francoeuria. The proline content of the artificially watered plants was kept at a low level throughout the day. The conditions and role of proline accumulation were discussed.