Phytochemical potential of Ficus species for the control of the phytonematode Meloidogyne javanica

Abstract

Root-knot nematodes, genus Meloidogyne, are among the most plant damaging pathogens worldwide. The action of natural products against plant pathogens has been investigated to assess their effectiveness in the control of diseases. Thus, the present study aimed to evaluate the phytochemistry potential of the Ficus species for the control of Meloidogyne javanica. In vitro inhibitory activity assays were performed with crude ethanolic extracts of leaves and branches from 10 Ficus species. Among these, Ficus carica extracts exhibited strong paralysis activity against second stage juveniles (J2) (EC50 = 134.90 μg ∙ ml–1), after 72 hours. In addition, high efficacy was observed in egg-hatching inhibition at different embryonic stages. Microscopy analysis revealed severe morphological alterations in the nematode tissues at the J2 stage, as well as immotility of juveniles released from eggs in the presence of F. carica extracts. The efficacy of the treatments for the other species was very low. These differences were supported by the variation in the compound classes, mainly for alkaloids and metabolite profiles by Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) when F. carica was compared with the other species. The results indicated that F. carica is a promising source for the isolation and identification of molecules capable of acting in the control of M. javanica.

Keywords

• gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (gc/ms)
• metabolite profiling
• pest control
• phytochemistry