Antifungal potential of hexanal and related compounds

Abstract

Volatile compounds including fundamental aroma constituents are naturally produced by plants as secondary metabolites and emitted into the environment. Fatty acids are the major precursors of volatile compounds responsible for aroma. They are transformed into aldehydes, alcohols, acids and esters trough the oxidative degradation pathway. The two most important products that have been studied for antifungal activity from this group of compounds are aldehydes, hexanal and trans-2-hexenal. Since there is increasing evidence based on investigation results that plant-derived compounds exhibit antifungal effects, research is done targeting possible practical applications. In the review antifungal effects of hexanal and related compounds in vitro and in vivo on economically important plant pathogens have been discussed.

Biljke oslobađaju u gasovitom stanju u spoljašnju sredinu mnoge sekundarne metabolite, među kojima i jedinjenja koja određuju aromu. Glavni prekursori u sintezi ovih jedinjenja su masne kiseline, čijim oksidativnim razlaganjem nastaju aldehidi, alkoholi, kiseline i estri. Među njima, najtoksičniji prema fitopatogenim gljivama su aldehidi, trans-2-heksenal i heksanal. Veliki broj istraživanja usmeren je ispitivanju antifungalnog potencijala biljnih komponenti prema značajnim fitopatogenim gljivama i mogućnostima njihove praktične primene. U radu su prikazani rezultati antifungalnog delovanja heksanala i srodnih jedinjenja in vitro i in vivo prema ekonomski značajnim prouzrokovačima biljnih bolesti.