Structure-fungitoxicity relationships of some volatile flaour constituents of the edible mushrooms Agaricus bisporus and Pleurotus florida

Abstract

The fungitoxicity of the diethyl ether extracts of two basidiomycete mushrooms, Agaricus bisporus and Pleurotus florida, and 14 flavour constituents present in these mushrooms is being reported. Median effective molar concentrations (EC50) of the compounds for the mycelial growth inhibition of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides on potato-dextrose-agar (PDA) medium were computed and compared. Among the constituents tested for fungitoxicity, 1-octanol exhibited the highest activity. Structure-activity relationship studies of the constituents revealed that high hydrophobicity of the alkyl moiety, the presence of the primary alcoholic group and the absence of branching of the alkyl group are responsible for the high activity of 1-octanol. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.