STUDY OF ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITY OF IMBRICIN, AN ANTIBIOTIC OF NON-MEDICAL APPLICATION, IN SEARCH OF ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY PESTICIDE

Imbricin, antifungal antibiotic of non-medical application, was obtained by means of biotechnology with an application of producer Streptomyces imbricatus LIA 0112/90. Imbricin is used in different branches of industry due to its powerful antifungal action in the relation to various species of fungi, low toxicity and high stability. It was shown that imbricin belongs to a group of antifungal non-polyene macrolide antibiotics.

In present report we demonstrated the results of antifungal activity of imbricin against various phytopathogenic fungi. It was found that imbricin showed high antifungal activity in concentration of 0.5-10.0 mg/mL against phytopathogenic fungi Rhizoctonia solani, Sphaeropsis malorum, Colletotrichum lagenarium, Alternaria alternatа, which cause diseases of grain crops, potatoes, vegetable cultures and fruit-trees. Biological studies indicated that fungi of genius Colletotrichum lagenarium, a causative agent of an anthracnose, were most sensitive to the action of imbricin in the concentration of 0.05 %. It is very important to note the high antifungal activity of imbricin in a wide range of concentrations against phytopathogenic fungi of genius Fusarium, which are widespread as causative agents of plant fusariosis in recent years.

A great interest of using of non-medical application antibiotics, and especially imbricin, for plant protection, can be explained by the fact that most of these compounds are easily destroyed in the soil, forming simple substances and almost don’t leave any poisonous residues in the environment. Therefore, imbricin may be considered as environmentally acceptable fungicide with wide spectrum of fungicidal action for the struggle with various phytopathogenic fungi.