Title

Antifungal Activity and Chemical Composition of Neem Seed Extract (Azadirachta indica A.).

Authors

Lulu Chang; Yin Liu; Weiwei Zhang; Guoqi Xu; Lihai Wang; Wenxia Yuan

Abstract

The antifungal activities and chemical composition of neem seed extract (Azadirachta indica) were investigated. An agar diffusion assay showed that neem seed extract (optimum concentration: 10%) inhibited the growth of Trametes versicolor and Gloeophyllum trabeum. The minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum fungicidal concentration were 2% and 4%, respectively, against the two fungal species. Scanning electron microscopy revealed severe morphological damage to fungal hyphae, including reduction of spores and hyphal shriveling. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analyses identified 17 compounds that represented 80.3% of the total extract, including astaxanthin (34.3%), cinobufagin (16.9%), anodendroside A (6.65%), 16-acetoxy-4,8,14-trimethyl-3,11-dioxo-, methyl ester (5.09%). Furthermore, T. versicolor-infected wood and G. trabeuminfected wood treated with 10% neem seed extract displayed mass decreases of 11.4 ± 5.8% and 25.8 ± 7.5%, respectively, compared with distilled water treatment (21.6 ± 4.2% and 46.9 ± 4.3%, respectively). These findings suggest the potential use of neem seed extract for antifungal wood protection.

Subjects

NEEM; COMPOSITION of seeds; FOURIER transform infrared spectroscopy; GAS chromatography/Mass spectrometry (GC-MS); TRAMETES versicolor

Publication

BioResources, 2022, Vol 17, Issue 1, p592

ISSN

1930-2126

Publication type

Academic Journal

DOI

10.15376/biores.17.1.592-603