Antifungal and phytotoxic activity of essential oil from root of Senecio amplexicaulis Kunth. (Asteraceae) growing wild in high altitude-Himalayan region

This work was aimed to evaluate the essential oil from root of medicinally important plant Senecio amplexicaulis for chemical composition, antifungal and phytotoxic activity. The chemical composition analysed by GC/GC–MS showed the presence of monoterpene hydrocarbons in high percentage with marker compounds as α-phellandrene (48.57%), o-cymene (16.80%) and β-ocimene (7.61%). The essential oil exhibited significant antifungal activity against five phytopathogenic fungi, Sclerotium rolfsii, Macrophomina phaseolina, Rhizoctonia solani, Pythium debaryanum and Fusarium oxysporum. The oil demonstrated remarkable phytotoxic activity in tested concentration and significant reduction in seed germination percentage of Phalaris minor and Triticum aestivum at higher concentrations. The roots essential oil showed high yield for one of its marker compound (α-phellandrene) which makes it important natural source of this compound.     

Designing,antifungal and structure activity relationship studies of Azomethines and β-lactam derivatives of aza heterocyclic amines

The present investigation deals with the synthesis of seven azomethine derivatives 1–7 of aza heterocyclic amines by carrying out condensation reaction of them with veratraldehyde followed by cyclizing the CHN moiety in synthesized azomethines of 4-amino-1,2,4-triazole and 4-amino antipyrine to yield β lactam derivatives 8–9. The chemical constituents in the synthesized compounds were confirmed by UV, IR, 1H NMR, ¹³C NMR, and elemental analysis. In vitro antifungal activity of all the synthesized products was done against four pathogenic maize fungal strains i.e. Fusarium verticillioides, Macrophomina phaseolina, Rhizoctonia solani, and Dreschlera maydis. It was found that azomethine derivative having 4-amino-1,2,4-triazole ring was as effective as standard carbendazim 50 WP against R. solani and may be considered as promising antifungal agent; therefore further modifications may be done in its structure to get better drug candidate in future.     

Identification and Structure Elucidation of a Novel Antifungal Compound Produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa PGPR2 Against Macrophomina phaseolina

Pseudomonas aeruginosa PGPR2 was found to protect mungbean plants from charcoal rot disease caused by Macrophomina phaseolina. Secondary metabolites from the culture supernatant of P. aeruginosa PGPR2 were extracted with ethyl acetate and the antifungal compound was purified by preparative HPLC using reverse phase chromatography. The purified compound showed antifungal activity against M. phaseolina and other phytopathogenic fungi (Fusarium sp., Rhizoctonia sp. Alternaria sp., and Aspergillus sp.). The structure of the purified compound was determined using ¹H, ¹³C, 2D NMR spectra and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Spectral data suggest that the antifungal compound is 3,4-dihydroxy-N-methyl-4-(4-oxochroman-2-yl)butanamide, with the chemical formula C₁₄H₁₇NO₅ and a molecular mass of 279. Though chemically synthesized chromanone derivatives have been shown to have antifungal activity, we report for the first time, the microbial production of a chromanone derivative with antifungal activity. This ability of P. aeruginosa PGPR2 makes it a suitable strain for biocontrol.     

Synthesis and Investigation of Tetrahydro-β-carboline Derivatives as Inhibitors of Plant Pathogenic Fungi

A series of tetrahydro-ß-carbolines substituted with an alkyl or acyl side chain was synthesized and screened for its antifungal activity against plant pathogenic fungi (Bipolaris oryzae, Curvularia lunata, Fusarium semitectum, and Fusarium fujikuroi). The structure activity relationship revealed that the substituent at the piperidine nitrogen plays an important role for increasing antifungal activities. In this series, 2-octyl-2,3,4,9-tetrahydro-1H-pyrido[3,4-b]indole (3g) displayed potent antifungal activities with a minimum inhibitory concentration of 0.1 μg/mL, including good inhibitory activity to the radial growth of fungus at a concentration of 100 μg/mL compared to amphotericin B.     

Synthesis,crystal structure and 3D-QSAR studies of antifungal (bis-)1,2,4-triazole Mannich bases containing furyl and substituted piperazine moieties

This article exhibited the synthesis, crystal structure and 3D-QSAR studies of antifungal furyl- and piperazine- containing (bis-)1,2,4-triazole Mannich bases.     

Synthesis and antifungal activity of d-glucopyranosyl ureas and d-glucofurano-imidazolidine-2-ones

A series of N-β-d-glucopyranosyl-N’-substituted phenyl ureas were synthesized by reaction of glucosyl isocyanate with arylamines and glycosamine with aryl isocyanates, and a series of d-glucofurano-imidazolidine-2-ones were obtained via deacetylation of glycosylureas. Although some of the compounds have already been described, most were prepared for the first time in this work. The structures of all the compounds synthesized were confirmed by IR, ¹H NMR, and, in part, by ¹³C NMR. Antifungal activity of the title compounds was determined against four kinds of plant pathogenic fungi, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Fusarium graminearum, Fusarium oxysporum, and Bipolaris maydis. Preliminary bioassay indicates that most of glycosylureas had some activity against S. sclerotiorum; for some, the antifungal activity was strong. However, most of the imidazolidine-2-ones had weak antifungal activity.     

Two new eremophilenolides from the roots of Ligulariopsis shichuana and their anti-phytopathogenic fungal and antifeedant activities

Two new eremophilenolides, ligushicins A (1) and B (2), and two known compounds including β-sitosterol and ursolic acid were isolated from Ligulariopsis shichuana. The structures of new compounds were established on the basis of 1D and 2D NMR data and HRESIMS data interpretation. The absolute configuration of new compounds was assigned by ECD spectroscopy, and that of ligushicins A (1) was confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis. The antifungal and antifeedant activities of new compounds were evaluated against four plant pathogenic fungi and third-instar larvae of Plutella xylostella, respectively. Ligushicins A (1) and B (2) exhibited potent antifungal activity against Botrytis cinerea and Fusarium oxysporum with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values ranging from 50 to 100 mg/L, while they also exhibited weak antifeedant activities.     

Antifungal Activity of Diketopiperazines and Stilbenes Against Plant Pathogenic Fungi In Vitro

The present study aimed to investigate antifungal activity of a stilbene and diketopiperazine compounds against plant pathogenic fungi, including Phytophthora capsici, P. colocasiae, Botrytis cinerea and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides. Minimal inhibition concentrations (MIC) and minimal fungicidal concentrations (MFC) of stilbenes and diketopiperazines for each fungus were determined using microplate method. Best activity was recorded by stilbenes against P. capsici and P. colocasiae. All four test compounds were effective in inhibiting different stages of the life cycle of test fungi. Stilbenes were more effective than diketopiperazines in inhibiting mycelial growth and inhibiting different stages of the life cycle of P. capsici and P. colocasiae. Rupture of released zoospores induced by stilbenes was reduced by addition of 100 mM glucose. The effects of stilbenes on mycelial growth and zoospore release, but not zoospore rupture, were reduced largely when pH value was above 7. In addition, stilbenes were investigated for its antifungal stability against Phytophthora sp. The results showed that stilbenes maintained strong fungistatic activity over a wide pH range (pH 4–9) and temperature range (70–120 °C). The compound stilbenes exhibited strong and stable broad-spectrum antifungal activity, and had a significant fungicidal effect on fungal cells. Results from prebiocontrol evaluations performed to date are probably useful in the search for alternative approaches to controlling serious plant pathogens.     

Bioactivity and molecular docking of synthesized macromolecular ligand and its complex

The development of drug resistant strains of the pathogenic fungi despite the availability of large number of drugs demands the development of new and more potential drug molecules. Dendrimer based drug molecules are comparatively less researched upon and a recent advancement in this field. The present study is concerned with the preparation of macromolecular ligand and its complex using ethylenediamine and methylmethacrylate as starting material. The reaction goes via Michael addition reaction and synthesized dendritic units were used as ligands to obtain metal-ligand complexes. Obtained ligand and its complex were characterized in terms of different techniques such as FTIR, ¹H NMR, ESI-MS, UV–Vis and Elemental analysis. Further, the ligand and its complex were used to determine antifungal activity against C. albicans ATCC 90028 by MICs and Disk diffusion assay. Comet assay and Molecular docking techniques were used to show toxicity effects and ligand–DNA interactions respectively. Ligand and its complex were obtained in very good yield with square planar geometry and having good antifungal potential against C. albicans. It was also found from Molecular docking and Comet assay, that the Copper complex interacts strongly with DNA and shows less toxicity than ligand. The compounds can serve as promising leads for the development of new antifungal agents.     

Evaluation of biological activities of some Schiff bases and metal complexes

Several Schiff bases were synthesised from sulphonamide and resacetophenone. The characterisation was done by CHN analysis, IR and NMR spectral data. These Schiff bases were evaluated for their antimicrobial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria as well as fungi. The antibacterial activity was studied against B. megaterium, E. coli, B. subtilis, P. fluorescens and antifungal activity against A. awamori. In addition, copper, nickel, cobalt, and iron complexes of two Schiff bases were also synthesised. Their structural characterisation was performed using CHN analysis and IR spectral data and their antibacterial and antifungal activities were also evaluated. The comparison of antimicrobial activities of the ligands and complexes shows that the presence of metal causes more inhibition i.e., more activity. Out of the four metals studied, cobalt and iron were found to have more antimicrobial activity.     

Design,synthesis, and in vitro antifungal evaluation of novel triazole derivatives bearing alkynyl side chains

In order to explore novel antifungal agents, twenty-seven triazole derivatives featuring an alkyne linker in the side chain were designed and synthesized by the Sonogashira reaction. Most of the target compounds exhibited good antifungal activity against eight human pathogenic fungi, especially excellent activity against Candida and Cryptococcus species, comparing with the reference drugs fluconazole, voriconazole and ravuconazole. Compounds A2 and A3 exhibited in vitro activity against all the tested fungi with MIC₈₀ values ranging from 0.0156 μg/mL to 0.5 μg/mL, which are superior to ravuconazole and fluconazole. SAR and molecular docking study give a clear conclusion that para-fluoro, para-chloro, and para-cyano substituted phenylalkynyl or pyridinylalkynyl side chains may promote triazole antifungal activity.     

Bio-Potency and Molecular Docking Studies of Isolated Compounds from Grewia optiva J.R. Drumm. ex Burret

In the study, two novel compounds along with two new compounds were isolated from Grewia optiva. The novel compounds have never been reported in any plant source, whereas the new compounds are reported for the first time from the studied plant. The four compounds were characterized as: 5,5,7,7,11,13-hexamethyl-2-(5-methylhexyl)icosahydro-1H-cyclopenta[a]chrysen-9-ol (IX), docosanoic acid (X), methanetriol mano formate (XI) and 2,2’-(1,4-phenylene)bis(3-methylbutanoic acid (XII). The anticholinesterase, antidiabetic, and antioxidant potentials of these compounds were determined using standard protocols. All the isolated compounds exhibited a moderate-to-good degree of activity against acetylcholinesterases (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE). However, compound XII was particularly effective with IC₅₀ of 55 μg/mL (against AChE) and 60 μg/mL (against BChE), and this inhibitory activity is supported by in silico docking studies. The same compound was also effective against DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and ABTS (2,2′-azinobis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) radicals with IC₅₀ values of 60 and 62 μg/mL, respectively. The compound also significantly inhibited the activities of α-amylase and α-glucosidase in vitro. The IC₅₀ values for inhibition of the two enzymes were recorded as 90 and 92 μg/mL, respectively. The in vitro potentials of compound XII to treat Alzheimer’s disease (in terms of AchE and BChE inhibition), diabetes (in terms of α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibition), and oxidative stress (in terms of free radical scavenging) suggest further in vivo investigations of the compound for assessing its efficacy, safety profile, and other parameters to proclaim the compound as a potential drug candidate.     

Synthesis and antifungal activity of carvacrol and thymol esters with heteroaromatic carboxylic acids

Aiming to obtain the more effective pathogen inhibitive ingredients and explore the influence of introducing different heterocyclic units to carvacrol and thymol esters, twenty ester derivatives with different heterocyclic units were synthesized. And the in vitro antifungal activity of title compounds against five plant pathogenic fungi was evaluated by mycelium growth rate method. The results showed that some carvacrol and thymol esters showed good to excellent antifungal activity, and compound 9d (4-bromo-5-isopropyl-2-methylphenyl picolinate) exhibited a broad antifungal spectrum. Preliminary study indicated that the introduction of furan, thiophene and pyridine unit could enhance the antifungal activity of carvacrol and thymol esters against Botrytis cinerea and a bromine atom on the para position of benzene moiety could enhance their antifungal activity.     

Design,Synthesis and Antifungal Activity of Benzofuran and Its Analogues

Benzofuran has antifungal activity as the inhibitor of N‐myristoyltransferase. Twenty‐nine novel benzofuran‐semicarbazide hybrids were designed and synthesized by principle of drug combinationatory. On this basis, the benzofuran ring was simplified to a resorcinol structure, and sixteen novel 1,3‐dialkoxybenzene‐semicarbazide hybrids were designed and synthesized. All structures of the target compounds were characterized by HRMS and NMR. The in vitro antifungal activity of target compounds was evaluated using the microdilution broth method against eight strains of pathogenic fungi with fluconazole as positive control. According to the results of the target compounds, structure‐activity relationship (SAR) is summarized. The inhibitory activity against the tested strains of simplified compounds ( K01 — K16 ) has different levels improvement compared with compounds Z01 — Z29 . K01 — K16 showed significant antifungal activities against A. fumigatus, C. kruseii, and sensitive C. albicans 5314. Notably, compounds Z20 , Z22 , K10 , K11 and K16 also displayed different activities against two fluconazole‐resistance strains that were isolated from AIDS patients. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values against fluconazole‐resistant strains were in the range of 2—8 μg/mL and 4—32μg/mL, respectively. Furthermore, molecular docking was performed to investigate the binding affinities and interaction modes between the target compound and N‐myristoyltransferase.     

3-Thiolated 2-azetidinones: synthesis and in vitro antibacterial and antifungal activities

A series of 3-thiolated β-lactams were synthesized by [2+2] ketene-imine cycloaddition reaction from S-substituted mercaptoacetic acids and Schiff bases. Then, some of the 3-methylthio β-lactams were converted to 3-(methylsulfinyl) β-lactams and 3-(methylsulfonyl) β-lactams using m-CPBA under different reaction conditions. All the compounds were characterized by spectral data and elemental analyses and were evaluated for their in vitro antibacterial and antifungal activities against pathogenic strains including Staphylococcus aureus (Methicillin resistant strain). The preliminary screening results indicated that some of these compounds demonstrated moderate to very good antibacterial and antifungal activities.     

Discovery of Cysteine and Its Derivatives as Novel Antiviral and Antifungal Agents

Based on the structure of the natural product cysteine, a series of thiazolidine-4-carboxylic acids were designed and synthesized. All target compounds bearing thiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid were characterized by ¹H-NMR, ¹³C-NMR, and HRMS techniques. The antiviral and antifungal activities of cysteine and its derivatives were evaluated in vitro and in vivo. The results of anti-TMV activity revealed that all compounds exhibited moderate to excellent activities against tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) at the concentration of 500 μg/mL. The compounds cysteine (1), 3–4, 7, 10, 13, 20, 23, and 24 displayed higher anti-TMV activities than the commercial plant virucide ribavirin (inhibitory rate: 40, 40, and 38% at 500 μg/mL for inactivation, curative, and protection activity in vivo, respectively), especially compound 3 (inhibitory rate: 51%, 47%, and 49% at 500 μg/mL for inactivation, curative, and protection activity in vivo, respectively) with excellent antiviral activity emerged as a new antiviral candidate. Antiviral mechanism research by TEM exhibited that compound 3 could inhibit virus assembly by aggregated the 20S protein disk. Molecular docking results revealed that compound 3 with higher antiviral activities than that of compound 24 did show stronger interaction with TMV CP. Further fungicidal activity tests against 14 kinds of phytopathogenic fungi revealed that these cysteine derivatives displayed broad-spectrum fungicidal activities. Compound 16 exhibited higher antifungal activities against Cercospora arachidicola Hori and Alternaria solani than commercial fungicides carbendazim and chlorothalonil, which emerged as a new candidate for fungicidal research.     

Synthesis,Structural Characterization,and In Vitro and In Silico Antifungal Evaluation of Azo-Azomethine Pyrazoles (PhN2(PhOH)CHN(C3N2(CH3)3)PhR,R = H or NO2)

The azo-azomethine imines, R¹-N=N-R²-CH=N-R³, are a class of active pharmacological ligands that have been prominent antifungal, antibacterial, and antitumor agents. In this study, four new azo-azomethines, R¹ = Ph, R² = phenol, and R³ = pyrazol-Ph-R’ (R = H or NO₂), have been synthesized, structurally characterized using X-ray, IR, NMR and UV–Vis techniques, and their antifungal activity evaluated against certified strains of Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans. The antifungal tests revealed a high to moderate inhibitory activity towards both strains, which is regulated as a function of both the presence and the location of the nitro group in the aromatic ring of the series. These biological assays were further complemented with molecular docking studies against three different molecular targets from each fungus strain. Molecular dynamics simulations and binding free energy calculations were performed on the two best molecular docking results for each fungus strain. Better affinity for active sites for nitro compounds at the “meta” and “para” positions was found, making them promising building blocks for the development of new Schiff bases with high antifungal activity.     

Indole-derived chalcones as anti-dermatophyte agents: In vitro evaluation and in silico study

A series of indole-derived methoxylated chalcones were described as anti-dermatophyte agents. The in vitro antifungal susceptibility testing against different dermatophytes revealed that most of compounds had potent activity against the dermatophyte strains. In particular, the 4-ethoxy derivative 4d with MIC values of 0.25−2 μg/ml was the most potent compound against Trichophyton interdigitale, Trichophyton veruccosum and Microsporum fulvum. Moreover, the 4-butoxy analog 4i displaying MIC values in the range of 1−16 μg/ml had the highest inhibitory activity against Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Microsporum canis, and Arthroderma benhamiae. To predict whether the synthesized compounds interact with tubulin binding site of dermatophytes, the 3D-structure of target protein was modeled by homology modeling and then used for molecular docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation studies. Docking simulation revealed that the promising compound 4d can properly bind with tubulin. The molecular dynamics analysis showed that interactions of compound 4d with the active site of target protein have binding stability throughout MD simulation. The results of this study could utilize in the design of more effective antifungal drugs with tubulin inhibition mechanism against keratinophilic fungi.     

Novel Mannich bases with strong carbonic anhydrases and acetylcholinesterase inhibition effects: 3-(aminomethyl)-6-{3-[4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]acryloyl}-2(3H)-benzoxazolones

In this study, a new series of Mannich bases, 3-(aminomethyl)-6-{3-[4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]acryloyl}-2( 3H )-benzoxazolones ( 1a–g ), were synthesized by the Mannich reaction. Inhibitory effects of the newly synthesized compounds towards carbonic anhydrases (CAs) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) enzymes were evaluated to find out new potential drug candidate compounds. According to the inhibitory activity results, K_i values of the compounds 1 and 1a–g were in the range of 12.3 ± 1.2 to 154.0 ± 9.3 nM against hCA I, and they were in the range of 8.6 ± 1.9 to 41.0 ± 5.5 nM against hCA II. Ki values of acetazolamide (AZA) that was used as a reference compound were 84.4 ± 8.4 nM towards hCA I and 59.2 ± 4.8 nM towards hCA II. K_i values of the compounds 1 and 1a–g were in the range of 35.2 ± 2.0 to 158.9 ± 33.5 nM towards AChE. K_i value of Tacrine (TAC), the reference compound, was 68.6 ± 3.8 nM towards AChE. Furthermore, docking studies were done with the most potent compounds 1d , 1g , and 1f (in terms of hCA I, hCA II, and AChE inhibition effects, respectively) to determine the binding profiles of the series with these enzymes. Additionally, the prediction of ADME profiles of the compounds pointed out that the newly synthesized compounds had desirable physicochemical properties as lead compounds for further studies.     

Synthesis and Biological Activity of Novel Oxazinyl Flavonoids as Antiviral and Anti-Phytopathogenic Fungus Agents

A series of oxazinyl flavonoids were synthesized on the basis of flavone. The structures of all target compounds were characterized by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, and HRMS. The effect of the different substituent on the N-position of oxazinyl flavonoids against tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) activities and plant pathogen activities was systematically investigated. In vivo anti-TMV activity showed that most of the compounds showed moderate-to-excellent antiviral activities against TMV at 500 μg/mL. Compounds 6b, 6d, 6j–6k, and 6n–6q showed better antiviral activities than ribavirin (a commercially available antiviral agent) and apigenin. In particular, compounds 6n and 6p even displayed slightly higher activities than ningnanmycin, which were expected to become new antiviral candidates. Antiviral mechanism research by molecular docking exhibited that compounds 6n and 6p could interact with TMV CP and inhibit virus assembly. Then, the antifungal activities of these compounds against six kinds of plant pathogenic fungi were tested, and the results showed that these oxazinyl flavonoids had broad-spectrum fungicidal activities. Compounds 6h exhibited antifungal activity of up to 91% against Physalospora piricola and might become a candidate drug for new fungicides.