Antimicrobial activity of various parts of tomato plants varied with different solvent extracts

Abstract

The antimicrobial activity of acetone, hexane, dichloromethane, and methanol extracts from leaves, stems, immature green fruits, and red fruits of tomato plants was examined against six phytopathogens. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the acetonic extracts from these four plant parts was lower than that of the other solvents. Among the acetonic extracts, tomato leaves had a lower MIC than the other tomato parts. The acetonic extract from tomato leaves was therefore selected as a source of antimicrobial substances. The acetonic extract from tomato leaves inhibited mycelial growth of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici, Glomerella cingulata, and Rhizoctonia solani. Mycelial growth of R. solani treated with acetone extract from leaves showed more susceptibility than the other phytopathogens. Using 0.31 mg.ml(-1) of the acetonic extract from leaves, mycelial growth of R. solani on days 1, 2, and 3 decreased by 50.0, 52.1, and 64.0%, respectively, compared with acetone solvent treatment. The antimicrobial compounds effective against R. solani were identified as linolenic acid and caffeic acid by bioautography and GC-MS. These two compounds were used to treat six phytopathogens to confirm their antimicrobial activities. Linolenic acid inhibited mycelial growth of R. solani, while caffeic acid showed only slight antimicrobial activity. Results indicated that we propose extracts from tomato leaves which included antimicrobial compounds may provide a new lead in the pursuit of new biological sources of agrochemical candidates.