Phytochemical analysis and insight into insecticidal and antifungal activities of Indian hawthorn leaf extract.

Fungicides or insecticides are popular means of controlling a variety of pathogens and insect pests; however, they can cause harmful effects on both human health and the environment. Different researchers have suggested using plant extracts, which have shown promise in managing fungi and insects. The purpose of this investigation was to explore the antifungal activities of an acetone extract made from the leaves of Indian Hawthorn (HAL) against phytopathogens that are known to harm maize crops, Fusarium verticillioides (OQ820154) and Rhizoctonia solani (OQ820155), and to evaluate the insecticidal property against Aphis gossypii Glover aphid. The HAL extract demonstrated significant antifungal activity against the two fungal pathogens tested, especially at the high dose of 2000 µg/mL. Laboratory tests on the LC20 of HAL extract (61.08 mg/L) versus buprofezin 25% WP (0.0051 mg/L) were achieved on A. gossypii Glover. HAL extract diminished the nymph's production over 72 h and their total reproductive rate. This extract was like buprofezin 25% WP in decreasing the daily reproductive rate, reproductive period, and mean survival percentage. Nevertheless, the newly-born nymphs of treated females with HAL extract attained the highest reduction in survival percentage at 46.00%. Equalized prolongations on the longevity of nymphs to 9.33, 8.33, and 7 days and the total life cycle to 15.00, 14.00, and 12.67 days were realized by HAL extract, buprofezin 25% WP, and the control, respectively. The olfactory choice test on the aphids showed the minimum attraction rate to HAL extract. The HPLC of HAL extract comprised an abundance of phenolic compounds (ferulic acid, gallic acid, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, salicylic acid, ellagic acid, and pyrogallol), and the concentrations of these compounds vary widely, with salicylic acid being the most concentrated at 25.14 mg/mL. Among the flavonoids, epicatechin has the highest concentration at 11.69 mg/mL. The HAL extract GC-MS consists of various organic compounds, including sesquiterpenes, cyclopropenes, fatty acids, steroids, alcohols, ketones, esters, bufadienolides, opioids, and other organic compounds. The most abundant compounds in the sample are n-hexadecanoic acid (12.17%), followed by 5α, 7αH, 10α-eudesm-11-en-1α-ol (9.43%), and cis-13-octadecenoic acid (5.87%). Based on the findings, it can be inferred that the HAL extract may be a viable option for plants to combat both fungal and insect infestations. This presents an encouraging prospect for utilizing a natural and sustainable approach toward long-term pest management in plants.

Urtica dioica and Dodonaea viscosa leaf extracts as eco-friendly bioagents against Alternaria alternata isolate TAA-05 from tomato plant.

One of the tomato's acutely devastating diseases is Alternaria leaf spot, lowering worldwide tomato production. In this study, one fungal isolate was isolated from tomatoes and was assigned to Alternaria alternata TAA-05 upon morphological and molecular analysis of the ITS region and 18SrRNA, endoPG, Alt a1, and gapdh genes. Also, Urtica dioica and Dodonaea viscosa methanol leaf extracts (MLEs) were utilized as antifungal agents in vitro and compared to Ridomil, a reference chemical fungicide. The in vitro antifungal activity results revealed that Ridomil (2000 µg/mL) showed the highest fungal growth inhibition (FGI) against A. alternata (96.29%). Moderate activity was found against A. alternata by D. viscosa and U. dioica MLEs (2000 µg/mL), with an FGI value of 56.67 and 54.81%, respectively. The abundance of flavonoid and phenolic components were identified by HPLC analysis in the two plant extracts. The flavonoid compounds, including hesperidin, quercetin, and rutin were identified using HPLC in D. viscosa MLE with concentrations of 11.56, 10.04, and 5.14 µg/mL of extract and in U. dioica MLE with concentrations of 12.45, 9.21, and 5.23 µg/mL, respectively. α-Tocopherol and syringic acid, were also identified in D. viscosa MLE with concentrations of 26.13 and 13.69 µg/mL, and in U. dioica MLE, with values of 21.12 and 18.33 µg/mL, respectively. Finally, the bioactivity of plant extracts suggests that they play a crucial role as antifungal agents against A. alternata. Some phenolic chemicals, including coumaric acid, caffeic acid, ferulic acid, and α-tocopherol, have shown that they may be utilized as environmentally friendly fungicidal compounds.

Plantago lagopus extract as a green fungicide induces systemic resistance against Rhizoctonia root rot disease in tomato plants.

Extensive use of chemical control agents and fungicides typically leads to numerous risks to human health and the environment. Using plant extracts as natural substances represents a dual key for the environment and sustainable food production, as it reduces the input of synthetic pesticides into the environment and/or controls plant pathogens. For the first time, a Plantago lagopus ethanolic extract has been characterized and evaluated for its protective and curative effects against Rhizoctonia solani in tomato plants. The results showed that P. lagopus extract (10 µg/ml) completely inhibited R. solani mycelial growth in vitro. At 20 days of post fungal inoculation, the results demonstrated that using P. lagopus extract (100 µg/ml) in vivo enhanced tomato plant growth by significantly increasing shoot and root parameters in protective and curative treatments. Furthermore, the protective and curative treatments significantly reduced the disease index by 18.66 and 38.66%, respectively. Induction of systemic resistance with upregulation of PR-1 and PR-2 and a significant increase in the transcriptional levels of PR-3 and CHS in all P. lagopus extract-treated tomato plants were reported compared to untreated plants. HPLC analysis showed that the most common polyphenolic components detected in P. lagopus extract were rutin (74206.3 mg/kg), naringenin (2388.74 mg/kg), quercetin (1249.13 mg/kg), and p-hydroxybenzoic acid (1035.87 mg/kg). In addition, the ellagic acid (798.47 mg/kg), vanillic acid (752.55 mg/kg), catechol (648.89 mg/kg), cinnamic acid (332.51 mg/kg), ferulic acid (296.32 mg/kg), benzoic acid (295.95 mg/kg), and chlorogenic acid (116.63 mg/kg) were also reported. Our study is the first to show that P. lagopus extract can help plants fight off R. solani fungal infection. Furthermore, the findings imply that using the P. lagopus extract as a natural biocontrol agent could be a sustainable strategy to manage plant fungal diseases.