Efficacy of pinosylvins against white-rot and brown-rot fungi

Three stilbenes, pinosylvin (PS), pinosylvin monomethyl ether (PSM) and pinosylvin dimethyl ether (PSD), were extracted from white spruce (Picea glauca), jack pine (Pinus banksiana), and red pine (Pinus, resinosa) pine cones, and their structures were confirmed by spectroscopic and chromatographic (HPLC, GC/MS, NMR and FTIR) analysis. PS, PSM, PSD or a 1:1:1 mixture of these stilbenes at concentrations of 0.1% and 1.0% were examined for their fungal inhibitory activity by two bioassay methods. Growth of white-rot fungi (Trametes versicolor and Phanerochaete chrysosporium), and brown-rot fungi (Neolentinus lepideus, Gloeophyllum trabeum and Postia placenta) on agar media in the presence of each of the stilbenes or a 1:1:1 mixture inhibited growth of white-rot fungi, but slightly stimulated growth of brown-rot fungi. Soil-block assays, conditions more representative of those found in nature, did nor correlate with those from the screening on agar media. PS, PSM, PSD or a 1:1:1 mixture of the three compounds at concentrations of 0.1% and 1.0% did not impart any significant decay resistance to white-rot fungi inoculated on a hardwood (Red maple). However under the same conditions, decay resistance was observed against brown-rot fungi on a softwood (Southern yellow pine), it appears that stilbenes at least partially contribute to wood decay resistance against brown-rot fungi.