Antifungal activity of wild and nursery Diospyros cuneata, a native species of dune scrub

Abstract

The synthetic fungicides used in agriculture cause environmental and human health problems and favor the rise of resistant fungal strains. An alternative to decrease this negative impact is those products derived from native plants. Nevertheless, anthropogenic activities cause the loss of native plants with biotechnological potential, and the ex situ conservation is one way to protect them even though their biological activity may decrease in comparison with wild plants. Diospyros cuneata Standl., native species from the coastal dune of Yucatan, was collected in dry and rainy seasons from wild and nursery plants. The antifungal activity of its leaves aqueous extracts (AE) was tested against six phytopathogenic fungi through a dilution method, including four AE. The antifungal activity against Colletotrichum gloeosporioides of the AE of the dry season from wild and nursery plants was similar and higher than those of the rainy season. A liquid-liquid partition chromatographic technique was used to obtain organic fractions. The hexane fraction (HF) of wild and nursery plants of the dry season inhibited the germination of C. gloeosporioides and C. truncatum (Syn. C. capsici) spores. The chromatographic analysis of AE from the wild plant of the dry season indicated that the abundance of metabolites was the highest. The bioautography showed that in both fungi the most active zone corresponds to the HF of the nursery plants.