In Vitro Antifungal Activity of Composites of AgNPs and Polyphenol Inclusion Compounds against <i>Fusarium culmorum</i> in Different Dispersion Media
Petruta Mihaela Matei,
Beatrice Michaela Iacomi,
Jesús Martín-Gil,
Eduardo Pérez-Lebeña,
M. Carmen Ramos-Sánchez,
M. Teresa Barrio-Arredondo,
Pablo Martín-Ramos
Affiliations
Petruta Mihaela Matei
Department of Bioengineering of Horticultural and Viticultural Systems, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest, Bulevardul Mărăști 59, București 011464, Romania
Beatrice Michaela Iacomi
Department of Bioengineering of Horticultural and Viticultural Systems, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest, Bulevardul Mărăști 59, București 011464, Romania
Jesús Martín-Gil
Agriculture and Forestry Engineering Department, ETSIIAA, Universidad de Valladolid, Avenida de Madrid 44, 34004 Palencia, Spain
Eduardo Pérez-Lebeña
Agriculture and Forestry Engineering Department, ETSIIAA, Universidad de Valladolid, Avenida de Madrid 44, 34004 Palencia, Spain
M. Carmen Ramos-Sánchez
Microbiology and Parasitology Service, Hospital Universitario Rio Hortega, Sanidad de Castilla y León (SACYL), Calle Dulzaina, 2, 47012 Valladolid, Spain
M. Teresa Barrio-Arredondo
Centro de Salud Barrio España, Sanidad de Castilla y León (SACYL), Calle Costa Brava, 4, 47010 Valladolid, Spain
Pablo Martín-Ramos
Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, EPS, Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Ciencias Ambientales de Aragón (IUCA), Universidad de Zaragoza, Carretera de Cuarte, s/n, 22071 Huesca, Spain
Fusarium culmorum is a soil-borne fungus able to cause Fusarium head blight, one of the most important cereal diseases worldwide, which can result in significant yield losses of up to 50% and which jeopardizes food and feed safety due to the mycotoxins produced. In the study presented herein, the enhancement of the antifungal activity against this pathogen, resulting from the addition of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) to different polyphenol-stevioside inclusion compounds, dispersed either in a chitosan oligomers hydroalcoholic solution or in a choline chloride:urea:glycerol deep eutectic solvent, was investigated in vitro. The polyphenols assayed were curcumin, ferulic acid, gallic acid and silymarin. Four composite concentrations (62.5, 125, 250 and 500 µg·mL−1), with and without AgNPs, were assessed, finding noticeable differences in mycelial growth inhibition, with EC50 and EC90 values ranging from 118 to 579 µg·mL−1 and from 333 to 2604 µg·mL−1, respectively. The obtained results evidenced the improved efficacy of the composites with AgNPs, a superior performance of the composites based on curcumin and ferulic acid, and the advantages of the deep eutectic solvent-based dispersion medium over the chitosan oligomers-based one. The reported composites hold promise for crop protection applications.
