Fungitoxic activity of root extracts from Ferula harmonis

Abstract

Air-dried and finely powdered roots of Ferula harmonis F. (Umbelliferae) were extracted in a Soxhlet with several solvents in succession and the gummy extracts in each fraction were collected and tested for their fungitoxic effects. The antifungal activity of nine F. harmonis extracts against Alternaria solani, Cladosporium sp., Colletotrichum sp., Fusarium oxysporum, Mucor sp., Penicillium italicum, Pythium sp., Rhizoctonia solani, Rhizopus stolonifer, Stemphylium solani, and Verticillium dahliae is reported. The strongest fungitoxic effects were found against V. dahliae, P. italicum and R. stolonifer. The weakest effect was against A. solani. All extracts of F. harmonis had varying degrees of fungitoxicity against all the fungi tested, which makes it a potential source of antifungal compounds. Ferutinin and teferidine, two known sesquiterpenes, were isolated from the roots of F. harmonis and their structures were identified. The fungitoxic activity of the ethyl acetate extract might be due to the presence of ferutinin contained in it.