Antifungal Effects of Drimane Sesquiterpenoids Isolated from Drimys winteri against Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici

Abstract

More than two billion tons of pesticides are used every year worldwide. An interesting sustainable alternative to control plant pathogens is the use of natural products obtained from plants, mainly medicinal plants that offer secondary metabolites important to human/animal health. In this study, we isolated and identified six pure drimane sesquiterpenoids obtained from the bark of Drimys winteri . Additionally, we evaluated their antifungal activities against Gaeumannomyces graminis (the main biotic factor affecting cereal production, especially wheat) by assessing fungal cell wall damage and lipid peroxidation. The compounds obtained showed important antifungal properties against G. graminis var. tritici, mainly isodrimenol, which was the second-most-active compound after polygodial, with an LC 50 against G. graminis var. tritici of around 9.5 μg ml −1 . This information could be useful for the development of new natural or hemisynthetic antifungal agents against soilborne phytopathogens that could be used in green agriculture.