The spore germination of Botrytis cinerea and other fungi was inhibited by chloroform extracts of the leaves of three plant species, Chrysanthemum marifolium, C. parthenium, and Ribes nigrum. The inhibition was shown to be due to chemical compounds which were coextracted with the epicuticular wax of the leaves. The compounds in the chloroform extracts of leaves were found to originate from oil glands which were present on the epidermis of all three of the plant species examined. The inhibitory compounds from C. morifolium leaves were not identified. The principle antifungal compound from R. nigrum leaves was identified as sakuranetin, a flavanone aglycone, present only in the oil glands of the upper surface of the leaf. The principle antifungal compound from C. parthenium leaves was identified as parthenolide, a sesquiterpene lactone. This compound was present in extracts of both surfaces of the leaves and in the glands on the achenes. The antifungal activity of the compounds studied was found to be highly variable against B. cinerea in vitro. None of these compounds was shown to exhibit antifungal activity on the leaf surface. This was thought to be due to the compounds within the glandular structures on the leaves of C. morifolium and C. parthenium. On leaves of R. nigrum, sakuranetin was shown to be present in water droplets placed on leaves during a certain period in the development of the mature leaf. However, the inhibition of spore germination on some leaves of R. nigrum and in some droplets removed from leaves could not be attributed to sakuranetin, because of the low concentration of this compound on the leaves and in these droplets.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:448338 |
| Date | January 1978 |
| Creators | Atkinson, P. |
| Publisher | University of Aberdeen |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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