Characterization and Identification of Novel Finger Millet (Eleusine corocana) Phytoalexins from the Leaves Infected with Pyricularia grisea

R. Kumar, K. Manjunatha, T.B. Kumar, L. Sundharshan, B.S. Kumar and H.E. Shashidhar

The phytoalexins are antimicrobial, low molecular weight compounds (secondary metabolites) and considered to be involved in defense reactions against pathogens. The present investigation was undertaken to study the phytoalexins in relation to blast pathogen infection in finger millet leaves in order to understand the nature of resistance to blast in the host. The phytoalexins from blast (Pyricularia grisea) infected leaves of finger millet (Eleusine corocana) were studied by extracting and subjecting to sephadex LH-20 column chromatography purification and characterization by continuous UV-spectra, EI-mass and IR spectrophotometer. Four phytoalexins isolated from blast infected leaves of finger millet of which two components with an R_f value of 0.22 and 0.28 were identified as oryzalexin A and B, respectively. Two other components with an R_f value of 0.35 and 0.61 are novel phytoalexins produced by finger millet in response to blast infection and needs to be studied further for nomenclature.

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