Antifungal activity of bergenin, a constituent of Flueggea microcarpa

Abstract

The antifungal activity of bergenin against some plant pathogenic fungi, namely, Alternaria alternata, A. brassicae, A. carthami. Fusarium udum, F. oxysporum f. sp. ciceri, Curvularia lunata and Erysiphe pisi, was studied. Bergenin as its monosodium salt was effective against all the fungi and the effective dose for complete inhibition of spore germination varied from 15 μg mL-1 for F. udum to 125 μg mL-1 for E. pisi. Experiments on the effect of bergenin on powdery mildew development under glasshouse conditions revealed that it can control powdery mildew of pea at 2000 μg mL-1 by postinoculation treatment, the results being comparable with those of carbendazim (1000μg mL-1) and wettable sulfur (2000 μg mL-1). It affected hyphal elongation and the number of primary and secondary branches.