Antifungal potential, chemical composition of Chlorella vulgaris and SEM analysis of morphological changes in Fusarium oxysporum

Kahkashan Perveen; Najat A Bukhari; Luluah M Al Masoudi; Amera Naser Alqahtani; Mashael W Alruways; Fatimah S Alkhattaf

doi:10.1016/j.sjbs.2021.12.033

Antifungal potential, chemical composition of Chlorella vulgaris and SEM analysis of morphological changes in Fusarium oxysporum

Saudi J Biol Sci. 2022 Apr;29(4):2501-2505. doi: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2021.12.033. Epub 2021 Dec 20.

Authors

Kahkashan Perveen¹, Najat A Bukhari¹, Luluah M Al Masoudi², Amera Naser Alqahtani^{1

3}, Mashael W Alruways⁴, Fatimah S Alkhattaf¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Botany & Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11495, Saudi Arabia.
² Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Taif University, Saudi Arabia.
³ Biological Sciences Department, Faculty of Science, University of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Shaqra University, Shaqra, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

In pursuit of an environmentally benign fungicide alternative, the current study explored the antifungal activity of Chlorella vulgaris extracts against six plant pathogenic fungi (in vitro). The well diffusion agar method was used to investigate the growth inhibition of Fusarium oxysporum, Fusarium sp., Fusarium solani, A. flavus, A. niger, and A. alternata using the three C. vulgaris extracts viz. methanol (CvME), acetone (CvAE), and diethyl ether (CvDE). Different concentrations of CvDE were also investigated against F. oxysporum. The morphological modifications in F. oxysporum treated with CvDE (5 mg/kg) were studied using SEM and the chemical composition of CvDE was also determined by GC-MS analysis. All extracts, with the exception of A. alternata, were found to be effective in inhibiting the growth of plant pathogenic fungi. The CvDE extract, followed by CvME and CvAE, was found to be efficient against tested fungi. The CvDE was most effective against F. oxysporum with a 73.3% growth inhibition. The effects of various CvDE concentrations on F. oxysporum were found to be dosage dependent. The SEM micrograph revealed that CvDE-treated F. oxysporum had substantially less conidia than the control. The CvDE treatment damaged the mycelial structure as well. Major chemical components detected in CvDE were Heptaldehyde (15.7%), Octadecenoic acid, methyl ester (12.6%), Hexadecanoic acid (12%), 3-Decyn-2-Ol (10.98%), (E)-3,7,11,15-tetramethylhexadec-2-ene (9.76%), heptadecane-1,2,3,4,5-pentol (8.7%), Docosane, 4-methyl (7.28%).

Keywords: Antifungal activity; Chlorella vulgaris; CvAE, C. vulgaris acetone extract; CvDE, C. vulgaris diethyl ether extract; CvME, C. vulgaris methanol extract; DMSO, Dimethyl sulfoxide (); GC/MS, Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry; GC–MS; Plant pathogenic fungi; SEM, Scanning Electron Microscopy.