Potential antagonistic effects of nine natural fatty acids against Meloidogyne incognita

J Agric Food Chem. 2012 Nov 21;60(46):11631-7. doi: 10.1021/jf3036885. Epub 2012 Nov 9.

Abstract

Fatty acids, the essential components of life, were widely present in various seed cakes, gutter oil, and other resources. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential antagonistic effects of nine fatty acids (FAs) against Meloidogyne incognita (root-knot nematodes). The results showed that butyric, caprylic, capric, lauric, myristic, palmitic, and oleic acids significantly reduced M. incognita reproduction, whereas cucumber (Cucumus sativus) biomass was not adversely affected by the tested FAs and was even significantly increased in several fatty acids treatments. All nine tested fatty acids showed apparent inhibitory effects on egg hatching on day 21, especially capric acid with which the hatching rate was reduced to 15.8% as compared to that using sterile distilled water. Caproic, caprylic, capric, lauric, myristic, and palmitic acids caused significantly higher mortality of the second-stage juvenile of M. incognita than the other three FAs, and both caprylic and capric acids resulted in approximately 50% mortality (2000 μmol/L) after a 24 h exposure. In conclusion, fatty acids showed the nematicidal effect differently, among which capric acid showed a strong nematicidal effect and might be a powerful active substance for integrated M. incognita management. Given the general nematicidal properties of FAs, farmers might utilize waste resources, such as oil seed cake, gutter oil, etc., containing various FAs or use pure FAs for effective M. incognita management.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antinematodal Agents / pharmacology*
  • Cucumis sativus / parasitology
  • Fatty Acids / pharmacology*
  • Plant Diseases / parasitology
  • Plant Roots / parasitology
  • Tylenchoidea / drug effects*

Substances

  • Antinematodal Agents
  • Fatty Acids