Antifungal compounds from turmeric and nutmeg with activity against plant pathogens
Graphical abstract
Introduction
Spices have been used since ancient times not only as flavoring agents, but also as folk medicines and food preservatives [1]. In addition, some spices are used to prolong the storage life of foods by preventing rancidity through their antioxidant activity or through antifungal or bactericidal activity [2]. Spices are generally recognized as safe (GRAS) due to their daily use over centuries in our food supply without any reports of deleterious effects [3].
Numerous studies have been published on the antifungal activity of plant extracts against different types of plant fungi. The methanol extracts of some commonly used Lamiaceae species were tested against four mycotoxigenic fungal species, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus ochraceus, and Fusarium proliferatum. Of which, Origanum vulgare, Origanum minutiflorum, and Tilia spicata extracts showed significant antifungal activity [4].
The in vitro antifungal activity of water extracts of seven spices from cardamom, chili, coriander, onion, garlic, ginger and galangal was evaluated against three Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) pathogens, Phoma exigua, Fusarium nygami and Rhizoctonia solani. All the extracts at three concentrations (10, 20 and 30%) inhibited fungal mycelium growth with varying degrees of effectiveness as compared to the control. Garlic extract exhibited the most growth inhibition against P. exigua, F. nygami and R. solani especially at 20 and 30% concentrations [5].
Both the volatile oil and curcumin of Curcuma longa exhibited a significant inhibitory effect of aflatoxin AFB1 and AFB2 production by A. flavus [6]. Wilson et al. studied the antifungal activity against Botrytis cinerea for extracts from 345 plants and 49 essential oils, they found that allium and capsicum extracts as well as the essential oils of Cymbopogon martini, Thymus zygis, Cinnamomum zeylanicum and Eugenia caryophyllata exhibited the most antifungal activity [7]. An investigation on the antifungal effects of rosemary, cumin, sater (savory), basil and pickling herb hydrosols against R. solani, Fusarium oxysporum, B. cinerea and Alternaria citri was carried out and the result showed that the hydrosols of sater and pickling herb showed the most relevant fungicidal activity [8].
The antifungal effects of essential oils derived from twenty spices were investigated against A. niger, Candida albicans, Candida blanki, Candida cylindracea, Candida glabrata, Candida krusei, Candida tropicalis, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae using the disc diffusion method [9]. Essential oil of cassia, allspice, clove, cumin, coriander, thyme, basil, anise, curry leaf, and asafetida inhibited all tested fungi, while oils from ginger, turmeric, and pomegranate were ineffective [9].
Strawberry anthracnose can be devastating since several plant parts may be infected in addition to the fruit. This fungal disease causes millions of dollars in crop loss each year [10]. Phomopsis obscurans causes a disease known as leaf blight of the cultivated strawberry and can infect foliage, runners, petioles, and fruits with a dark brown center surrounded by light-brown rings with purplish halos [11], [12].
Phomopsis viticola causes phomopsis cane and leaf spot, which is an important disease of grapes worldwide, it affects most parts of the grapevine, such as leaves, rachis, flowers, and berries and up to 30% losses of the crop has been reported [13].
In this study, the antifungal activity of 22 common spices using direct bio-autography, coupled to a Colletotrichum species was performed to evaluate their potential utility in managing these plant pathogens. Turmeric, nutmeg, ginger, clove, oregano, cinnamon, anise, fennel, black pepper, basil and black cumin showed antifungal activity against three Colletotrichum species. Turmeric and nutmeg extracts were chosen for bioassay-guided fractionation, because they were the two most active spices among the tested spices. Three curcuminoids (1–3) were isolated from turmeric and two 8-O-4′-neolignans (4, 5) along with 5-hydroxyeugenol (6) were isolated from nutmeg. The isolated compounds were subsequently evaluated using a 96-well micro-dilution broth assay against plant pathogens.
Section snippets
General experimental procedures
UV spectra were obtained in MeOH using a Varian Cary 50 Bio UV–visible spectrophotometer and IR spectra were recorded using a Brucker Tensor 27 spectrophotometer. 1D and 2D NMR spectra were obtained on a Varian AS 400 spectrometer. High resolution electrospray ionization mass spectroscopy (HRESIMS) was recorded on a Brucker Bioapex FTMS in ESI mode. Classical TLC analysis was performed on silica gel 60 F254 20 × 20 cm on an aluminium sheet (EMD). Detection was carried out under UV light (254 nm, 366
Results and discussion
In our search for new naturally occurring plant protectants from aromatic and medicinal plants, four spices from the Lamiaceae family (mint, basil, oregano and rosemary), six from the Apiaceae family (fennel, anise, coriander, cilantro, cumin and dill), three from the Zingiberaceae family (cardamom, ginger and turmeric) and nine spices (garlic, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, poppy seed, paprika, cayenne, black pepper and black cumin) from miscellaneous families were evaluated for their antifungal
Acknowledgments
This study was supported by grant number P20GM104931 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) and the National Center for Research Resources (P20PR021929), components of the National Institute of Health and its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors. The authors thank Ms. J. Linda Robertson and Ms. Ramona Pace for assistance with the bioautography and microtiter bioassays.
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2021, Current Research in BiotechnologyCitation Excerpt :Other compounds like turmeronol A, turmeronol B, (E)-α-atlantone, dihydrobisdemethoxy-curcumin, and demethoxy-curcumin showed moderate fungitoxic activity (Akter et al. 2019b). Furthermore, demethoxy-curcumin and bisdemethoxy-curcumin, pure compounds derived from turmeric leaf extract, had fungitoxic effects against Phomopsis obscurans and Phomopsis viticola, pathogens causing cankers (Radwan et al., 2014). The leaf extract of C. longa demonstrated antifungal activity against Alternaria alternata, Cladosporium cladosporioides, Colletotrichum higginsianum, six Fusarium species, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, and Rhizopus oryzae (Chen et al., 2018).
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2020, Scientia HorticulturaeCitation Excerpt :Dissanayake (2014), also confirmed the fungistatic effect of methanolic crude ginger extract against F. oxysporum at 25.0 g L−1. A dose-dependent effect of methanolic and aqueous turmeric extracts (5.0 g L−1 and 7.5 g L−1) against C. gloeosporioides has been reported (Radwan et al., 2014). Singh et al. (2007, 2008) reported in vitro antifungal studies of securinine and allosecurinine isolated from Phyllanthus spp. on Colletotrichum spp. at 1.0 g L−1.
Nutmeg overdose: Spice not so nice
2019, Complementary Therapies in MedicineCitation Excerpt :In some cases, the nutmeg components appear to be able to modify some bacterial proteins, rather than the organisms themselves.2,5 Nutmeg has also been shown to have some antifungal properties, and this was validated with experiments using plant fungal compounds.6 Antioxidant effects — the oils of nutmeg have been looked at as a source of antioxidant ability.