Silene uniflora Extracts for Strawberry Postharvest Protection

Abstract

Halophytes are gaining considerable attention due to their applications in saline agriculture, phytoremediation, medicine, and secondary metabolite production. This study investigated the bioactive components present in Silene uniflora (sea campion) hydromethanolic extract, and their antimicrobial activity was evaluated both in vitro and ex situ against two strawberry phytopathogens, namely Botrytis cinerea (grey mold) and Colletotrichum nymphaeae (anthracnose fruit rot). The main identified phytochemicals were mome inositol, saturated fatty acid esters, and cyclotetracosane. In vitro tests demonstrated complete inhibition of the growth of B. cinerea and C. nymphaeae at extract concentrations of 1000 and 1500 μg·mL−1, respectively, with an activity comparable to that of fosetyl-Al and substantially higher than that of azoxystrobin. This activity was improved upon conjugation with chitosan oligomers (COS), yielding inhibition values of 750 and 1000 μg·mL−1. The COS-S. uniflora conjugate complexes were then tested as protective treatments for postharvest storage of strawberry fruit, resulting in high protection against artificially inoculated B. cinerea and C. nymphaeae at doses of 3750 and 5000 μg·mL−1, respectively. The reported results open the door to the valorization of this halophyte as a source of biorationals for strawberry protection.

Phytochemical Constituents and Antimicrobial Activity of Euphorbia serrata L. Extracts for Borago officinalis L. Crop Protection

“…In the case of B. cinerea, the efficacy is only lower than those of U. tomentosa (375 µg•mL −1 ) [74], Cinnamomum cassia (L.) J.Presl, Syzygium aromaticum (L.) Merr. and Perry, and Origanum syriacum L. (600 µg•mL −1 ) [78,79,82], and it is comparable to that of Silene uniflora Roth (1000 µg•mL −1 ) [73]. Against F. oxysporum spp., the activity is lower than those of Cestrum nocturnum L. ethyl acetate and methanol extracts (500 µg•mL −1 ) [89] and A. maritima extract (750 µg•mL −1 ) [44], and it is comparable to that of Cestrum nocturnum hexane and chloroform extracts (1000 µg•mL −1 ) [89].…”