Abstract
Juniperus procera is an evergreen dioecious more seldom monoecius tree, which belongs to the family Cupressaceae and the only Juniper species, which is found in the mountains of East Africa and it is an important indigenous forest tree species in Ethiopia. However J. procera is subjected to a serious attack by the slow growing white heart-rot fungus, Pyrofomes demidoffii. Resin has been reported to be active against wood colonizing fungi, however, the role of resin of J. procera in protecting the tree from the attack of P. demidoffii is not known. Therefore this study has initiated to assess the inhibitory effect of resin from J.procera against a white rot fungi P. demidoffii. Resin and basidiocarps of P. demidoffii was collected from infected J. procera trees at Menagesha Suba Forest situated 30 km South West of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The antifungal activity of J. procera resin against P. demidoffii was tested using agar dilution assay technique and an impressive result was observed. The MIC value of resin extract was within the range of 5 to 6 mg/100 ml MEAP. Phytochemical screening test for resin extract was done and it revealed the presence of alkaloids, saponins, terpenoids, phenolic compounds, flavenoides and fixed oils and the absence of carbohydrate, glycoside, steroids and fats. The crude extract of J. procera resin was fractionated into six fractions with column chromatography using different organic solvents and all fractions run on Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) plate using benzene: methanol (18:6) and benzene: ethanol: ammonia (18:2:1). All fractions gave different retention factor (Rf) in each developing solvents.
Highlights
Juniperus procera is an evergreen dioecious, more seldom monoecius tree, which belongs to the family Cupressaceae and the only Juniper species, which is found in the mountains of East Africa and it is one of the two indigenous conifer species which found in Ethiopia [1]
The evaluation of growth diameter of P. demidoffii on diffserent media demonstrated, as Malt Extract Agar with Peptone (MEAP) is a good medium for the cultivation of P. demidoffii
The results of this study showed that, resin from J. procera has significant inhibitory effect against P. demidoffii
Summary
Juniperus procera is an evergreen dioecious, more seldom monoecius tree, which belongs to the family Cupressaceae and the only Juniper species, which is found in the mountains of East Africa and it is one of the two indigenous conifer species which found in Ethiopia [1]. It is naturally found in the central high lands of Ethiopia. J. procera is a multipurpose tree, which results from its drought tolerant and adaptability [5]
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