article · Brazilian Archives of Biology and Technology
Agricultural reliance on synthetic chemical fungicides poses environmental and toxicity challenges. This research explores an eco-friendly alternative by extracting total potato glycoalkaloids and two specific steroidal alkaloids, alpha-chaconine and alpha-solanine, from potato plants to synthesise silver nanoparticles. Spectroscopic analyses confirmed the alkaloid structures, and green synthesis yielded silver nanoparticles ranging from 39.5 to 80.3 nanometres in diameter. Both the raw alkaloids and the synthesised nanoparticles suppressed mycelial growth across four major crop-damaging fungi: Alternaria alternata, Rhizoctonia solani, Botrytis cinerea, and Fusarium oxysporum. Formulating the alkaloids into silver nanoparticles substantially enhanced their antifungal potency, achieving lower median effective concentrations. Furthermore, the alkaloids demonstrated minimal to no phytotoxic harm when tested on wheat and radish seedlings. The findings highlight the viability of repurposing potato-derived compounds into biorational antifungal formulations.
Fungal pathogens cause substantial yield losses in agriculture, but continuous reliance on synthetic chemical fungicides raises significant ecological and health concerns. Developing plant-derived, eco-friendly antifungal treatments offers a safer route to crop protection. By demonstrating that natural potato alkaloids and their nanoparticle derivatives effectively suppress harmful fungi without harming model crops, this work supports the shift towards sustainable, biologically rational agricultural inputs.
This work indicates potential applications in crop protection, specifically as biorational fungicides for agricultural growers and agrochemical manufacturers seeking natural alternatives to synthetic treatments. The findings represent early-stage, laboratory-tested research: while the antifungal potency and basic plant safety were demonstrated on selected seedlings, further formulation development, field trials, and safety evaluations are needed before practical commercial use can be achieved.
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In order to reduce the excessive reliance on the toxic chemical fungicides, the present study aimed to isolate the total potato glycoalkaloids (TPAs), and the two steroidal alkaloids α-chaconine and α-solanine from potatoes, Solanum tuberosum L. Their structures were characterized using physical and spectroscopic methods including (UV, IR, 1H, 13C--NMR, 2D 1H-1H COSY, HMBC and NOESY). Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were prepared from potato alkaloids through a green synthesis approach. Potato alkaloids and their nanoparticles inhibited mycelial growth of the phytopathogenic fungi Alternaria alternate, Rhizoctonia solani, Botrytis cinerea and Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici with low minimal inhibitory and minimal fungicidal concentrations. R. solani was the most susceptible, while F. oxysporum was the most resistant. TPAs was the most fungitoxic (EC50's were 19.8, 22.5, 26.5 and 32.3 µg/ml against R. solani, A. alternate, B. cinerea and F. oxysporum respectively). A mixture of α-solanine and α-chaconine (1:1) showed a marked antifungal activity. AgNPs (size 39.5-80.3 diameter) from alkaloids showed improved fungitoxic activity (EC50's of TPAs nanoparticles ranged between 10.9 and 16.1 µg/ml). Alkaloids exhibited no or a slight phytotoxicity against wheat and radish. Results recommend the potential of using potato alkaloids and their nanoparticles as biorational alternatives to conventional fungicides.
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DOI: 10.1590/1678-4324-2018180013
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