Tea polyphenol is a potential antifungal agent for the control of obligate biotrophic fungus in plants

Abstract

Tea polyphenol (TP) exhibits broad‐spectrum antimicrobial properties. In this study, the in vitro and in vivo antifungal activities of TP on Puccinia striiformis f.sp. tritici (Pst), which is an obligate biotrophic fungus that causes severe wheat stripe rust disease, were evaluated to investigate the control efficacy of TP. In vitro experiments showed that, at a concentration of 1.0 mg/ml, TP significantly suppressed urediniospore germination and caused the aberrant growth of germ tubes. The inhibition ratio reached 100% by increasing the TP concentration. In vivo experiments showed that TP reduced incidence rate and the uredia coverage rate in a dose‐ and application time‐dependent manner. TP treatment also induced the aberrant differentiation of Pst on wheat leaves. Results suggest that the ideal TP concentration range is 20–40 mg/ml, and TP may be a potential antifungal agent for the control of obligate biotrophic fungus in plants.

Antimicrobial Activities of Tea Polyphenol on Phytopathogens: A Review

“…The beneficial effect of TP in inhibiting obligate biotrophic fungus was also observed by Yang et al [ 12 ], who reported on the antifungal activity of TP on Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici ( Pst ), an obligate biotrophic fungus that causes severe wheat stripe rust disease.…”

“…To elucidate the confused inhibition mechanisms of TP, and study in vivo activity, toxicity and bioavailability are the main research directions in the future [42]. Moreover, the field utilization of TP is greatly limited by its poor permeability [12]. Recent studies reported that the encapsulation of TP using nanoemulsions improved the systemic bioavailability and efficacy [43,44,45], which may be a good way to improve TP’s permeability and the biocontrol effect for the management of phytopathogens.…”

“…However, the ideal TP concentration range for controlling Pst was 20–40 mg/mL, which was much higher than the effective dosage determined in other studies. This difference is mainly attributed to the fact that TP lacks the ability to effectively enter plant tissues to inhibit the growth of the infectious hyphae, due to the absence of a good systemic activity [ 12 ].…”

“…With more awareness of the potential health risks and environmental hazards caused by chemical pesticides, the development of botanical pesticides has aroused great interest among researchers throughout the world [ 11 ]. Phenolic compounds extracted from tea have been reported to possess antimicrobial properties against a wide spectrum of plant pathogens [ 12 ]. The main objective of this review is to unify and interpret widely scattered information on antimicrobial activities of TP against phytopathogens such as fungi, bacteria and viruses derived from existing studies.…”

Antimicrobial Effect of Tea Polyphenols against Foodborne Pathogens: A Review

“…Yang et al(81) confirmed that the incidence of Botrytis cinerea was significantly reduced after the combined treatment of TP and Theasaponins (TS), which indicated that the combined application of TP and TS could control the gray mold of nectarine in vitro. Similarly, Yang et al(80) revealed that TP might be a potential antifungal agent and could be used to control plant-specific fungal organisms, which could cause wheat stripe rust, in vivo and in vitro studies.Lan et al (45) prepared PVA / TP films with volume ratios of 10:1, 9:1, 8:2, 7:3, 6:4 and 5:5 by tape casting method, and compared some characterizations of strawberries with different films. The results showed that the films with a volume ratio of 8:2 significantly delayed the loss of titratable acids and soluble solids in fruits, limited the growth of microorganisms, and extended the shelflife of strawberries.…”