Analogs of Antifungal Indoles Isolated from Aporpium Caryae with Activity Against Sudden-Death Syndrome of Soybean

Based on the precedent discovery of a weak antifungal indole isolated from Aporpium caryae, which increased its activity when changing the N-alkyl chain, nineteen N-alkyl indoles, with alkyl chains from one to ten carbons and one or two hydroxyls, one amine or bromine functional groups, were prepared and fully characterized by spectroscopic methods. The aim of this study is the search for new synthetic agrochemical leads derived from natural products. The antifungal activity of the synthesized compounds against three fungal strains was measured in vitro. Six compounds presented good activity against Fusarium virguliforme, the causal agent of sudden-death syndrome (SDS) in soybean, in a bioautography assay. Four of them were tested in a germination test and in a greenhouse experiment. All tested compounds, applied as seed treatment, showed antifungal properties being effective to control SDS when there was low level of fungal contamination. Results indicate that some of the tested compounds are acting as growth inhibitors and represent new leads for the treatment of SDS for which no specific treatment has been previously reported.