Efficacy of Lawsonia inermis leaves extract and its phenolic compounds against olive knot and crown gall diseases.

Abstract

This study was undertaken to determine the antibacterial efficacy of the leaves extracts of Lawsonia inermis in vitro and in vivo, against the phytopathogenic bacteria Pseudomonas savastanoi pv savastanoi IVIA 1628 and Agrobacterium tumefaciens. The hydroalcoholic extract of L. inermis was fractionated by liquid–liquid partition using hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and butanol. Among the tested fractions, the ethyl acetate (EtOAcF) and chloroform (CHCl3F) extracts exhibited high inhibition against all tested plant pathogens. The extracts exerted a bactericidal activity against both P. savastanoi and A. tumefaciens with MIC values ranging from 1.25 to 2.5 mg/ml. In planta experiments, the EtOAcF, tested at four concentrations (0.4, 0.2, 0.1 and 0.05 mg/wounds), completely inhibited the formation of knots on twigs of olive and tomato plants inoculated with pathogenic strains of P. savastanoi and A. tumefaciens (strains B6 and C58). The phytochemical screening revealed that the L. inermis fractions contain flavonoids, quinones, tannins and terpenoids. The qualitative analysis of the EtOAcF by LC–DAD–ELSD–ESI/MSn showed the presence of eight identified phenolic and phenolic glycoside compounds. These results suggest that L. inermis extracts could be used to control plant bacterial diseases caused by P. savastanoi and A. tumefaciens.