Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Propolis Natural Alternative for Control of Plant Pathogen

Bioassay-Guided Isolation and Identification of Antifungal Components from Chinese Propolis against Penicillium italicumFood Chemistry, Article in Press

The present study was aimed at identification of antifungal components against P. italicum from Chinese propolis with bioassay-guided fractionation technique.

Propolis ethanolic extract (PEE) was separated and purified by liquid-liquid extraction and thin layer chromatography (TLC) and the most active band was subjected to HPLC-MS/MS to identify the antifungal compounds.

The results showed PEE and its fractions had strong antifungal activity against P. italicum.

Among the fractions of PEE partitioned by petroleum ether, ethyl acetate, n-butanol and water, ethyl acetate fraction (E-Fr) exhibited the most effective activity against P. italicum. Further bioautographic TLC assay showed Band I, with Rf value of 0.70, had an inhibitive zone, which showed the strongest antifungal activity and completely inhibited the growth of P. italicum at 200 mg/L. Bioactive components found in Band I were further identified as pinobanksin, pinocembrine, chrysin and galangin.

This study exhibited Chinese propolis and its main flavonoids as potential natural alternatives for the control of citrus blue mold caused by P. italicum.

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