Biological activity of 7beta-acetoxywithanolide D isolated from Acnistus arborescens

Abstract

Many oomycete species are plant pathogens and are responsible for causing significant losses in agriculture. Currently, plant pathogen control is carried out by chemical, biological and physical methods. However, due to the development of resistance to these methods by some pathogens, it is imperative that alternative methods are developed. Brazilian biodiversity is well-known for its species richness and is considered a promising source of natural products. Among the vascular plants, the family Solanaceae A. Juss. (Solanaceae) is considered one of the largest, with distributions across all tropical and temperate regions of the world. The Solanaceae family presents a high diversity of species of economic importance as sources of food, medicinal and ornamental properties. Plants of this family are sources of secondary metabolites of various chemical classes that possess potential diverse applications. Therefore, chemical and biological investigations of these compounds are extremely important as they present alternatives for their potential use in the control of plant pathogens. Here, we report for the first time, the biological activity of 7beta-acetoxywithanolide D, a compound isolated from Acnistus arborescens, against the oomycete Phytophthora cinnamomi. With these results, we emphasize the importance of such studies on plant secondary metabolites, which may present coadjuvant options in the control of plant pathogens.