View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Journal of Applied and Natural Science AL SCI UR EN 344 T C A E N F D O N U A N D D A E I T L I Journal of Applied and Natural Science 2 (2): 344-350 (2010) O P N P A JANS ANSF 2008 Effect of phenolic compounds on nematodes- A review Puja Ohri* and Satinder Kaur Pannu Department of Zoology, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar-143005, INDIA *Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected] Abstract: The term, phenolics has been used to describe a group of structurally diverse plant secondary metabolites. This group includes metabolites derived from the condensation of acetate units (terpenoids), those produced by the modification of aromatic amino acids (phenylpropanoids, cinnamic acid, lignin precursor, catechols and coumarins), flavonoids, isoflavonoids, and tannins. The occurrence and metabolism of phenolic substances in plants, in response to injury or invasion by pathogens, such as fungi, bacteria and viruses have already been studied. Oxidised compounds produced in plants after invasion by pathogens often show considerable biological activity and are a common mechanism of resistance to plant pathogens. The present review gives information regarding the effects of different phenolic compounds on nematode system. It is found that these compounds are involved in plant defense and hence provide resistance against nematode attack. Keywords: Flavonoids, Phenols, Phenylpropanoids, Salicylic acid, Tannins, Nematodes INTRODUCTION toxic with mortality greater than 95%. Whereas 2,6- Plants produce a wide range of biologically active dibromoquinone chloroimide, catechin hydrate, b- chemicals, secondary metabolites, which are involved in resorcylic acid, m-hydroxy benzoic acid and 3,4- plant defense against pests and diseases. The major dihydroxy benzoic acid exhibited moderate activity with classes of secondary metabolites include Alkaloids, mortality ranging from 52-66%. In the same study, ten Terpenoids and Phenolic compounds. Among the three phenolic compounds were oxidized and assayed for groups, Phenolic compounds have been used to describe nematicidal activity out of which oxidized a-resorcylic a group of structurally diverse plant secondary acid, ferulic acid, 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid and caffeic metabolites. Phenolic compounds possess in common acid showed high mortality effect. Lower activity was an aromatic ring bearing one or more hydroxyl indicated by chlorogenic acid and catechin hydrate, while substituents. Most of the phenolic compounds are vanillic acid, phloroglucinol and p-hydroxy cinnamic acid polyphenols and they are categorized into 5 groups:- induced negligible nematode mortality. Naringenin was Simple phenols and phenolic acids, phenylpropanoids, found to be the most effective, with total suppression of flavonoids, tannins and quinone. The occurrence and hatching. 2-OH napthoic acid and transcinnamic acid metabolism of phenolic substances in plants, in response were also highly effective in suppressing the egg hatch. to injury or invasion by pathogens, such as fungi, bacteria Again in year 1992, Mahajan et al. tested a wide range of and viruses, have been studied extensively (Farkas and phenolic compounds for their nematicidal activity against Kiraly, 1962; Patil et al., 1964). In nematodes too, a large M. incognita. Out of the 55 phenolic compounds tested, number of phenolic compounds have been found to have coumestrol, juglone, dihydroxy caffeic acid quinone, 2,6- strong nematicidal activity. The present review is an effort dihydroxy benzoic acid, gentisic acid, p-methoxycinnamic to consolidate the literature available regarding the effect acid, 3-phenylphenol, 7-OH-coumarin, vanillic, syringic of these compounds on nematodes. and protocatechuic acid showed high nematicidal activity. PHENOLS Host-parasite relationships of M. incognita acrita and A number of phenolic compounds including Pratylenchus penetrans have been compared on three monohydroxy, dihydroxy and trihydroxy compounds, closely related cultivars of tomato: ‘Nemared’, resistant quinones and aromatic acids such as transcinnamic acid to root knot nematodes, ‘Hawaii 7153’, moderately have been studied for their nematicidal activity and their resistant and ‘B-5’, susceptible (Hung and Rohde, 1973). effect on egg hatch of Meloidogyne incognita (Mahajan It was reported that the large number of larvae of M. et al., 1985). Transcinnamic acid, pyrogallol, 2-OH incognita and P. penetrans never penetrated the resistant napthoic acid and ethyl gallate were found to be highly variety of tomato due to some sort of inhibition and this ISSN : 0974-9411 All Rights Reserved © Applied and Natural Science Foundation. www.ansfoundation.org 345 Puja Ohri and Satinder Kaur Pannu / J. Appl. & Nat. Sci. 2 (2): 344-350 (2010) inhibition was provided by phenolic compounds. obtained when the effect of SA was explored on M. Chlorogenic acid was identified as the major phenolic incognita infesting cowpea and okra (Nandi et al., 2000b, compound in the roots after or before infection. The 2002, 2003). nematicidal activity of various substituted phenols, Pankaj and Sharma (2003) demonstrated relative sensitivity phenoxyacetic acid esters and hydrazides was also of M. incognita and Rotylenchus reniformis to salicylic determined against second stage juveniles of seed-gall acid on okra. Salicylic acid when sprayed promoted the nematode (Anguina tritici), root knot nematode (M. plant growth significantly over control. The number of javanica) and pigeon pea cyst nematode (H. cajani) to galls and egg masses produced by M. incognita was establish the relationship of activity with structural significantly low. Thus SA not only interfered in gall variations (Malik et al., 1989). They reported that phenols formation but also impaired the production of normal egg with electron donating substituents, particularly the masses and subsequently hatching. chloro-substituted phenols are more active than those Sirohi and Pankaj (2005) has conducted a study on bare with electron withdrawing substituents. root dip application of systemic acquired resistance The effects of naturally occurring napthoquinones- (SAR) inducing chemicals in tomato against M. plumbagin, juglone and lawsone extracted from Plumbago incognita. In the study, three week old tomato seedlings zeylanica, Juglans regia and Lawsonia alba respectively (cv. Pusa Ruby) were treated with salicylic acid or 2- has been studied in vitro on root-knot nematode, M. hydroxybenzoic acid, rose bengal and gibberellic acid @ javanica (Dama, 2002). Nematodes were exposed at 25, 50 and 100 µg/ml as foliar spray, root dip for 10 min concentration 200mg/10ml water/flask for 6h, 12h and 24h. and soil drench with simultaneous or delayed nematode It was found that percent mortality was 100% in inoculation. The tomato seedlings were harvested after plumbagin, 97.9% in juglone and 58.3% in lawsone. The 60 days from date of sowing. The results showed that all structure-activity relationship observed for the action of three chemicals had varied effect as resistance inducers plumbagin on M. incognita demonstrated quite a rigid and of all three chemicals SA was the most effective structural requirement for attainment of maximal activity. molecule for inducing resistance while other two Thus, juglone and lawsone, differ from plumbagin only chemicals also showed same effect as inducers for in absence of a methyl group, were considerably less resistance but the effect was not significant. In another effective against M. javanica. Similar earlier studies also study by Pankaj et al. (2005) on the estimation of salicylic showed that plumbagin had toxic effect on development acid and its role in resistance mechanism in chickpea of parasitic nematode, Haemonchus contortus (Fetterer against M. incognita showed that SA has a positive role and Fleming, 1991) and juglone has been implicated as in resistant mechanism in chickpea. Similarly, a study on an antiparasitic agent (Dama and Jadhav, 1997). the evaluation of SA as SAR inducer against M. SALICYLIC ACID incognita on tomato cv. Co3 has been conducted by Jayakumar et al. (2006). It was demonstrated that among Salicylic acid (SA) is a natural phenolic compound present the various dosage levels and methods of application of in many plants and is involved in induction of resistance SA i.e. root dip and foliar application of SA on tomato cv. in various plants. This has been reported by Ganguly et Co3 @ 50, 100 and 200 ppm affected the development of al. (1999) in which the foliar application of salicylic acid M. incognita and significantly increased plant height, on tomato cv. Pusa Ruby @ 25 and 50 µg/ml affected the root length, shoot weight and root weight at 90 days development of M. incognita. The development of after transplanting. Hence, it was concluded that such a juveniles into adult females was considerably delayed plant growth promoting effect might have induced by and population of males increased indicating sex reversal, exogenous application of SA and reduction in root-knot on application of 50 µg/ml of SA. Reduced root galling nematode population is mainly due to resistance induced (50 % or lower) was observed in treated tomato plants by it. over control. The effect of salicylic acid on the M. incognita has been The effect of exogenous salicylic acid on the M. incognita demonstrated by Naik and Sharma (2007) in relation to infesting tomato Pusa Ruby has been worked out by eight pesticides (Metayalaxyl