Abstract

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were evaluated for its possible controlling postharvest pathogen. Ten endophytic fungi isolated from medicinal plant (Calotropis procera (Ait.) R. Br.), out of these isolates only one canbiosynthesizes silver nanoparticles. The isolate was identified as Fusarium chlamydosporum F25 according to sequence similarities and phylogenetic analysis. The Silver nanoparticles were characterized by Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive Analysis of X-ray (EDX). Four postharvest pathogenic fungi were isolated and identified according to morphological, and microscopical characteristics, the isolated fungi were identified as Alternaria alternata, Fusarium oxysporum, Aspergillus niger, and Penicillium digitatum. The antifungal activity of silver nanoparticles was tested against the isolated pathogens. In vitro silver nanoparticles had a significant effect on growth of all pathogens. Furthermore, silver nanoparticles used to control the postharvest green mould disease of orange caused by Penicillium digitatum. Commercial fungicide Revus top used as a positive control. Silver nanoparticles showed high efficiency against the disease. This study provides the possibility of the use of silver nanoparticles as a protectant fungicide against postharvest disease.

Highlights

  • Medicinal plants are reported to harbor endophytes (Strobel, 2002), which in turn provide protection to their host from infectious agents and provide adaptability to survive in adverse environmental conditions

  • The objectives of this research were carried out to evaluate the antifungal activity of bio-synthesized silver nanoparticles for controlling fungus postharvest diseases and evaluate the efficiency of commercial fungicides

  • Fungal biomass was separated by filtration, washed with sterile distilled water to remove the traces of culture media components, re-suspended in 100 ml twice distilled water, incubated at 28°C for 24hours, and filtered. 10 ml AgNO3 solution (1mM) was added to the filtrate and reaction mixture without AgNO3 was used as control

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Summary

Introduction

Medicinal plants are reported to harbor endophytes (Strobel, 2002), which in turn provide protection to their host from infectious agents and provide adaptability to survive in adverse environmental conditions. Br., commonly known as calotrope, rubber tree, and akando, is a widely used medicinal plant in the Indian Sub-continent (Akinloye et al, 2002; Kumar and Roy, 2007). Different parts of the plant have been reported to possess a number of biological activities such as antimicrobial (Sing et al, 2002; Khan et al, 2007). Nanotechnology is the technology of materials having a particle size below a hundred nanometers. The properties of materials below a hundred nanometers usually differ from those in the bulk scales. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) among all noble metals have been widely used in many pharmaceutical and biological applications because of their unique antimicrobial properties (Egger et al, 2009)

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