• Applied Biological Chemistry
• /
• v.40 no.4
• /
• pp.352-356
• /
• 1997

To induce the phytoalexins in plant cell culture systems, we surveyed the antimicrobial activity following the feeding of five naphthoquinones in cell cultures of petunia. Among naphthoquinones treated, 2,5,7-trihydroxy-3-(5'-hydroxyhexyl)-1,4-naphthoquinone (3-OH NQ ) was most efficiently absorbed into the cells within 48 hr. The crude extracts of cells treated with 3-OH NQ showed a strong inhibition activity on spore germination of Aspergillus candidus $(MIC:\;32\;{\mu}g/ml)$, whereas the untreated cells showed no activity. The two active compounds, 4,2',4',${\beta}$-tetrahydroxychalcone and 4',7-dihydroxyflavone, were isolated from petunia cells treated with 3-OH NQ. The major phytoalexin, 4,2',4',${\beta}$-tetrahydroxychalcone, inhibited strongly the spore germination of A. candidus $(MIC:\;16\;{\mu}g/ml)$.