Novel synthesized 2, 4-DAPG analogues: antifungal activity, mechanism and toxicology

2, 4-Diacetylphloroglucinol (2,4-DAPG), a natural phenolic compound, has been investigated in light of its biological activities against plant pathogens. To improve its potential application, fourteen 2,4-DAPG analogous were synthesized through the Friedel-Crafts reaction using acyl chlorides and phloroglucinol. Of the 2,4-DAPG derivatives, MP4 exhibited much higher antifungal activity against Penicillium digitatum and P. italicum, the major pathogenic fungi in citrus fruit, than 2, 4-DAPG in vitro, and significantly inhibited the development of decay in harvested mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco cv. Shatang.) fruit in vivo. It was found that MP4 resulted in the wrinkle of the hyphae in both fungi with serious folds and breakage. In addition, the expression of several cytochrome P450 (CYP) genes were also modified in both fungi by MP4, which might be associated with the disorder of cell membrane formation. Furthermore, the toxicology of MP4 by evaluating the cell proliferation effect on human normal lung epithelial (16HBE) and kidney 293 (HEK293) cells, was significantly lower than that of albesilate, a widely used fungicide in harvested citrus fruit. In summary, the synthesized MP4 has shown a great potential as a novel fungicide that might be useful for control of postharvest decay in citrus fruit.