Sourdough lactic acid bacteria were selected for antifungal activity by a conidial germination assay. The 10-fold-concentrated culture filtrate of Lactobacillus plantarum 21B grown in wheat flour hydrolysate almost completely inhibited Eurotium repens IBT18000, Eurotium rubrum FTDC3228, Penicillium corylophilum IBT6978, Penicillium roqueforti IBT18687, Penicillium expansum IDM/FS2, Endomyces fibuliger IBT605 and IDM3812, Aspergillus niger FTDC3227 and IDM1, Aspergillus flavus FTDC3226, Monilia sitophila IDM/FS5, and Fusarium graminearum IDM623. The nonconcentrated culture filtrate of L. plantarum 21B grown in whole wheat flour hydrolysate had similar inhibitory activity. The activity was fungicidal. Calcium propionate at 3 mg ml ؊1 was not effective under the same assay conditions, while sodium benzoate caused inhibition similar to L. plantarum 21B. After extraction with ethyl acetate, preparative silica gel thin-layer chromatography, and chromatographic and spectroscopic analyses, novel antifungal compounds such as phenyllactic and 4-hydroxyphenyllactic acids were identified in the culture filtrate of L. plantarum 21B. Phenyllactic acid was contained at the highest concentration in the bacterial culture filtrate and had the highest activity. It inhibited all the fungi tested at a concentration of 50 mg ml ؊1 except for P. roqueforti IBT18687 and P. corylophilum IBT6978 (inhibitory concentration, 166 mg ml ؊1 ). L. plantarum 20B, which showed high antimold activity, was also selected. Preliminary studies showed that phenyllactic and 4-hydroxy-phenyllactic acids were also contained in the bacterial culture filtrate of strain 20B. Growth of A. niger FTDC3227 occurred after 2 days in breads started with Saccharomyces cerevisiae 141 alone or with S. cerevisiae and Lactobacillus brevis 1D, an unselected but acidifying lactic acid bacterium, while the onset of fungal growth was delayed for 7 days in bread started with S. cerevisiae and selected L. plantarum 21B.Fungal growth is the most frequent cause of spoilage in baked goods. In addition to the great economic losses associated with spoilage, another concern is the possibility that mycotoxins could cause public health problems (20).Fungal contamination of baked goods is influenced by several factors: the type of product (bread or sweet baked goods), ingredients (type of flour and other dry ingredients), leavening sources (chemical, baker's yeast, or sourdough), size and architecture of the bakery, and conditioning and packaging of the products (slicing, wrapping, and materials used for packaging). Since fungal spores are killed during baking, airborne molds contaminate the baked goods during cooling, slicing, wrapping, and storage operations (20).The most common spoiling fungi isolated from bakery products belong to the genera Penicillium, Aspergillus, Monilia, Mucor, Endomyces, Cladosporium, Fusarium, and Rhizopus (20,24). Baked goods can be protected from fungal spoilage by destroying any spores which have contaminated the products (e.g., infrared and microwave ra...

Ornamental flower growers know that placing a cut daffodil (a.k.a. narcissus) in a vase with other flowers has a negative effect on the quality of those flowers and significantly shortens their vase life. Furthermore, a common horticultural practice for the cultivation of narcissus flowers involves the introduction of cuts on the bulbs before immersing them into water. The mucilage that leaches out from the cuts is constantly removed by frequent changing of water and this leads to sprouting. These observations raise speculation that specific components in the mucilage of the narcissus bulbs may have powerful growth-inhibitory effects. Historical use of narcissus flowers, as well as at least thirty other plants of the Amaryllidaceae family, in folk medicine for the management of cancer 1 speaks volumes to validate this conjecture. Indeed, powerful anticancer properties of Narcissus poeticus L. were already known to the Father of Medicine, Hippokrates of Kos (ca. B.C. 460-370), who recommended a pessary prepared from narcissus oil for the treatment of uterine tumors. 2 His successors, the ancient Greek physicians Pedanius Dioscorides (ca. A.D. 40-90) and Soranus of Ephesus (A.D. 98-138) continued using this therapy in the first and second centuries A.D.3 , 4 In addition, the topical anticancer uses of extracts from this plant5 , 6 as well as from N. pseudonarcissus7-9 were recorded in the first century A.D. by the Roman natural philosopher Gaius Plinius Secundus, (A.D. 23-79), better known as Pliny the Elder. 10 Even the Bible provides multiple references to the Mediterranean N. tazetta L., which has a long history of use against cancer. 11 The applications of narcissus oil in cancer management continued in the middle ages in Chinese, North African, Central American and Arabian medicine. 1,12 The uses of other genera of the Amaryllidaceae family were also common, e. g. Hymenocallis caribaea (L. emend Gawler) Herbert, utilized by early European medical practitioners for inflammatory tumors. 13 More recently, the plants of the Amaryllidaceae have been under intense scrutiny for the presence of the specific metabolites responsible for the medicinal properties associated with this plant family. The study began in 1877 with the isolation of alkaloid lycorine from Narcissus pseudonarcissus 14 and since then more than 100 alkaloids, exhibiting diverse biological activities, have been isolated from the Amaryllidaceae plants. Based on the present scientific evidence, it is likely that isocarbostyril constituents of the Amaryllidaceae, such as narciclasine, pancratistatin and their congeners, are the most

Twenty-two lycorine-related compounds were investigated for in vitro anti-tumor activity using four cancer cell lines displaying different levels of resistance to pro-apoptotic stimuli and two cancer cell lines sensitive to pro-apoptotic stimuli. Lycorine and six of its congeners exhibited potency in the single-digit micromolar range, while no compound appeared more active than lycorine. Lycorine also displayed the highest potential (in vitro) therapeutic ratio, being at least 15 times more active against cancer than normal cells. Our studies also showed that lycorine exerts its in vitro anti-tumor activity through cytostatic rather than cytotoxic effects. Furthermore, lycorine provided significant therapeutic benefit in mice bearing brain grafts of the B16F10 melanoma model at non-toxic doses. Thus, the results of the current study make lycorine an excellent lead for the generation of compounds able to combat cancers, which are naturally resistant to pro-apoptotic stimuli, such as glioblastoma, melanoma, non-small-cell-lung cancers, metastatic cancers, among others.

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Olive oil vegetation waters (VW) were highly toxic to both phytopathogenic Pseudomonas syringae (Smith, Yung et al.) pv. savastanoi (Gram-negative) and Corynebacterium michiganense (Gram-positive) and showed bactericidal activity in their original concentration (in raw form). Among the main polyphenols, present in the waste waters, methylcatechol proved to be the most toxic to Ps. savastanoi at 10(-4) mol l-1, and also demonstrated bactericidal activity, while on Coryne. michiganense it was only slightly active; catechol and hydroxytyrosol were less active on Ps. savastanoi, but inactive on Coryne. michiganense; tyrosol and its synthetic isomers 1,2- and 1,3-tyrosol were completely inactive on both bacteria. Among the derivatives of VW polyphenols considered, acetylcatechol and guaiacol were selectively toxic for Ps. savastanoi, while o-quinone was strongly toxic for both bacteria. The minor carboxylic polyphenols of VW at 10(-4) mol l-1 were all inactive on the bacteria. VW, catechol, 4-methylcatechol and the less abundant carboxylic polyphenols proved to be toxic on Hep2 human cells. Finally the possibility of using the active polyphenols in agriculture in an integrated pest management program for the protection of the olive plant is discussed.

Up to 60 species of fungi in the Botryosphaeriaceae family, genera Cadophora, Cryptovalsa, Cylindrocarpon, Diatrype, Diatrypella, Eutypa, Eutypella, Fomitiporella, Fomitiporia, Inocutis, Phaeoacremonium and Phaeomoniella have been isolated from decline-affected grapevines all around the World. The main grapevine trunk diseases of mature vines are Eutypa dieback, the esca complex and cankers caused by the Botryospheriaceae, while in young vines the main diseases are Petri and black foot diseases. To understand the mechanism of these decline-associated diseases and the symptoms associated with them, the toxins produced by the pathogens involved in these diseases were isolated and characterised chemically and biologically. So far the toxins of only a small number of these decline fungi have been studied. This paper presents an overview of the toxins produced by the most serious of these vine wood pathogens: Eutypa lata, Phaeomoniella chlamydospora, Phaeoacremonium aleophilum and some taxa in the Botryosphaeriaceae family, and examines how these toxins produce decline symptoms. The chemical structure of these metabolites and in some cases their vivotoxin nature are also discussed.

Covering: 2007 to 2015 Fungal phytotoxins are secondary metabolites playing an important role in the induction of disease symptoms interfering with host plant physiological processes. Although fungal pathogens represent a heavy constraint for agrarian production and for forest and environmental heritage, they can also represent an ecofriendly alternative to manage weeds. Indeed, the phytotoxins produced by weed pathogenic fungi are an efficient tool to design natural, safe bioherbicides. Their use could avoid that of synthetic pesticides causing resistance in the host plants and the long term impact of residues in agricultural products with a risk to human and animal health. The isolation and structural and biological characterization of phytotoxins produced by pathogenic fungi for weeds, including parasitic plants, are described. Structure activity relationships and mode of action studies for some phytotoxins are also reported to elucidate the herbicide potential of these promising fungal metabolites.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most lethal and common malignant human brain tumor. The intrinsic resistance of highly invasive GBM cells to radiation- and chemotherapy-induced apoptosis accounts for the generally dismal treatment outcomes. This study investigated ophiobolin A (OP-A), a fungal metabolite from Bipolaris species, for its promising anticancer activity against human GBM cells exhibiting varying degrees of resistance to proapoptotic stimuli. We found that OP-A induced marked changes in the dynamic organization of the F-actin cytoskeleton, and inhibited the proliferation and migration of GBM cells, likely by inhibiting big conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channel (BKCa) channel activity. Moreover, our results indicated that OP-A induced paraptosis-like cell death in GBM cells, which correlated with the vacuolization, possibly brought about by the swelling and fusion of mitochondria and/or the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). In addition, the OP-A-induced cell death did not involve the activation of caspases. We also showed that the expression of BKCa channels colocalized with these two organelles (mitochondria and ER) was affected in this programmed cell death pathway. Thus, this study reveals a novel mechanism of action associated with the anticancer effects of OP-A, which involves the induction of paraptosis through the disruption of internal potassium ion homeostasis. Our findings offer a promising therapeutic strategy to overcome the intrinsic resistance of GBM cells to proapoptotic stimuli.