Antifungal properties of primine a benzoquinone isolated from Miconia affinis (Melastomataceae) and synthetic analogues acting against human opportunistic and soybean infecting fungi

DERITA, MARCOS; SVETAZ, LAURA; CALDERÓN, A; SOLÍS, P; GUPTA, MAHABIR; LAMOUREX, G; HERRERA, A; COY, R; PÉREZ, A; ZACCHINO, SUSANA

Sao Pedro

Simposio; Second International Joint Symposium Chemistry, Biological And Pharmacological Properties Of Medicinal Plants From Americas; 2004

International Organization for Chemical Sciences in Developement (IOCD), Sociedade Brasileira de Química (SBQ) and Ciencia y Tecnología para el Desarrollo (CYTED)

The antifungal 3-pentyl-5-methoxy-1,4-benzoquinone (primine) has been isolated from the methanolic extract of the Panamanian plant Miconia affinis D.C. Since some quinone analogues including 1,4-benzoquinones and 1,2- and 1,4-naphtoquinones have shown interesting antifungal properties against phytopathogenic as well opportunistic human fungi we tested a series of 1,4-naphtoquinones against a panel of yeasts, hialohyphomycetes as well as dermatophytes and 13 isolated strains of soybean pathogenic fungi, belonging to 6 genera and 7 species. The most susceptible species were Colletrotrichum truncatum and Phomopsis longicolla, which are the causes of the most serious soybean diseases due to their high incidence and persistence.