Specialized Metabolites from the Allelopathic Plant <i>Retama raetam</i> as Potential Biopesticides
To cope with the rising food demand, modern agriculture practices are based on the indiscriminate use of agrochemicals. Although this strategy leads to a temporary solution, it also severely damages the environment, representing a risk to human health. A sustainable alternative to agrochemicals is t...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2022-04-01
|
| Series: | Toxins |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/14/5/311 |
| _version_ | 1827666160985833472 |
|---|---|
| author | Gabriele Soriano Claudia Petrillo Marco Masi Mabrouka Bouafiane Aminata Khelil Angela Tuzi Rachele Isticato Mónica Fernández-Aparicio Alessio Cimmino |
| author_facet | Gabriele Soriano Claudia Petrillo Marco Masi Mabrouka Bouafiane Aminata Khelil Angela Tuzi Rachele Isticato Mónica Fernández-Aparicio Alessio Cimmino |
| author_sort | Gabriele Soriano |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | To cope with the rising food demand, modern agriculture practices are based on the indiscriminate use of agrochemicals. Although this strategy leads to a temporary solution, it also severely damages the environment, representing a risk to human health. A sustainable alternative to agrochemicals is the use of plant metabolites and plant-based pesticides, known to have minimal environmental impact compared to synthetic pesticides. <i>Retama raetam</i> is a shrub growing in Algeria’s desert areas, where it is commonly used in traditional medicine because of its antiseptic and antipyretic properties. Furthermore, its allelopathic features can be exploited to effectively control phytopathogens in the agricultural field. In this study, six compounds belonging to isoflavones and flavones subgroups have been isolated from the <i>R. raetam</i> dichloromethane extract and identified using spectroscopic and optical methods as alpinumisoflavone, hydroxyalpinumisoflavone, laburnetin, licoflavone C, retamasin B, and ephedroidin. Their antifungal activity was evaluated against the fungal phytopathogen <i>Stemphylium vesicarium</i> using a growth inhibition bioassay on PDA plates. Interestingly, the flavonoid laburnetin, the most active metabolite, displayed an inhibitory activity comparable to that exerted by the synthetic fungicide pentachloronitrobenzene, in a ten-fold lower concentration. The allelopathic activity of <i>R. raetam</i> metabolites against parasitic weeds was also investigated using two independent parasitic weed bioassays to discover potential activities on either suicidal stimulation or radicle growth inhibition of broomrapes. In this latter bioassay, ephedroidin strongly inhibited the growth of <i>Orobanche cumana</i> radicles and, therefore, can be proposed as a natural herbicide. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:42:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-23b69c8421c54c5f8cc7a7a16c3caf0a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-6651 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:42:02Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Toxins |
| spelling | doaj.art-23b69c8421c54c5f8cc7a7a16c3caf0a2023-11-23T13:22:41ZengMDPI AGToxins2072-66512022-04-0114531110.3390/toxins14050311Specialized Metabolites from the Allelopathic Plant <i>Retama raetam</i> as Potential BiopesticidesGabriele Soriano0Claudia Petrillo1Marco Masi2Mabrouka Bouafiane3Aminata Khelil4Angela Tuzi5Rachele Isticato6Mónica Fernández-Aparicio7Alessio Cimmino8Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80126 Naples, ItalyDepartment of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, 80126 Naples, ItalyDepartment of Chemical Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80126 Naples, ItalyLaboratoire de Protection des Ecosystèmes en Zones Arides et Semi-Arides, Universit’e Kasdi Merbah-Ouargla, Ouargla 30000, AlgeriaLaboratoire de Protection des Ecosystèmes en Zones Arides et Semi-Arides, Universit’e Kasdi Merbah-Ouargla, Ouargla 30000, AlgeriaDepartment of Chemical Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80126 Naples, ItalyDepartment of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, 80126 Naples, ItalyDepartment of Plant Breeding, Institute for Sustainable Agriculture (IAS), CSIC, Avenida Menéndez Pidal s/n, 14004 Cόrdoba, SpainDepartment of Chemical Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80126 Naples, ItalyTo cope with the rising food demand, modern agriculture practices are based on the indiscriminate use of agrochemicals. Although this strategy leads to a temporary solution, it also severely damages the environment, representing a risk to human health. A sustainable alternative to agrochemicals is the use of plant metabolites and plant-based pesticides, known to have minimal environmental impact compared to synthetic pesticides. <i>Retama raetam</i> is a shrub growing in Algeria’s desert areas, where it is commonly used in traditional medicine because of its antiseptic and antipyretic properties. Furthermore, its allelopathic features can be exploited to effectively control phytopathogens in the agricultural field. In this study, six compounds belonging to isoflavones and flavones subgroups have been isolated from the <i>R. raetam</i> dichloromethane extract and identified using spectroscopic and optical methods as alpinumisoflavone, hydroxyalpinumisoflavone, laburnetin, licoflavone C, retamasin B, and ephedroidin. Their antifungal activity was evaluated against the fungal phytopathogen <i>Stemphylium vesicarium</i> using a growth inhibition bioassay on PDA plates. Interestingly, the flavonoid laburnetin, the most active metabolite, displayed an inhibitory activity comparable to that exerted by the synthetic fungicide pentachloronitrobenzene, in a ten-fold lower concentration. The allelopathic activity of <i>R. raetam</i> metabolites against parasitic weeds was also investigated using two independent parasitic weed bioassays to discover potential activities on either suicidal stimulation or radicle growth inhibition of broomrapes. In this latter bioassay, ephedroidin strongly inhibited the growth of <i>Orobanche cumana</i> radicles and, therefore, can be proposed as a natural herbicide.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/14/5/311biocontrol<i>Retama raetam</i><i>Stemphylium vesicarium</i><i>Orobanche cumana</i>laburnetinephedroidin |
| spellingShingle | Gabriele Soriano Claudia Petrillo Marco Masi Mabrouka Bouafiane Aminata Khelil Angela Tuzi Rachele Isticato Mónica Fernández-Aparicio Alessio Cimmino Specialized Metabolites from the Allelopathic Plant <i>Retama raetam</i> as Potential Biopesticides Toxins biocontrol <i>Retama raetam</i> <i>Stemphylium vesicarium</i> <i>Orobanche cumana</i> laburnetin ephedroidin |
| title | Specialized Metabolites from the Allelopathic Plant <i>Retama raetam</i> as Potential Biopesticides |
| title_full | Specialized Metabolites from the Allelopathic Plant <i>Retama raetam</i> as Potential Biopesticides |
| title_fullStr | Specialized Metabolites from the Allelopathic Plant <i>Retama raetam</i> as Potential Biopesticides |
| title_full_unstemmed | Specialized Metabolites from the Allelopathic Plant <i>Retama raetam</i> as Potential Biopesticides |
| title_short | Specialized Metabolites from the Allelopathic Plant <i>Retama raetam</i> as Potential Biopesticides |
| title_sort | specialized metabolites from the allelopathic plant i retama raetam i as potential biopesticides |
| topic | biocontrol <i>Retama raetam</i> <i>Stemphylium vesicarium</i> <i>Orobanche cumana</i> laburnetin ephedroidin |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/14/5/311 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT gabrielesoriano specializedmetabolitesfromtheallelopathicplantiretamaraetamiaspotentialbiopesticides AT claudiapetrillo specializedmetabolitesfromtheallelopathicplantiretamaraetamiaspotentialbiopesticides AT marcomasi specializedmetabolitesfromtheallelopathicplantiretamaraetamiaspotentialbiopesticides AT mabroukabouafiane specializedmetabolitesfromtheallelopathicplantiretamaraetamiaspotentialbiopesticides AT aminatakhelil specializedmetabolitesfromtheallelopathicplantiretamaraetamiaspotentialbiopesticides AT angelatuzi specializedmetabolitesfromtheallelopathicplantiretamaraetamiaspotentialbiopesticides AT racheleisticato specializedmetabolitesfromtheallelopathicplantiretamaraetamiaspotentialbiopesticides AT monicafernandezaparicio specializedmetabolitesfromtheallelopathicplantiretamaraetamiaspotentialbiopesticides AT alessiocimmino specializedmetabolitesfromtheallelopathicplantiretamaraetamiaspotentialbiopesticides |