Antifungal activities of Morinda lucida root extracts against Lasiodiplodia theobromae for post harvest disease management

Lasiodiplodia theobromae is a destructive plant pathogen with a broad host range, causing rotting and dieback in numerous plant species, including post-harvest fungal diseases. As conventional fungicides may have limitations and environmental impacts, exploring alternative, eco-friendly approaches to control this pathogen is crucial. Morinda lucida, is an ethnomedicinal plant reported to have various traditional uses and acclaimed pharmacological activities. Hence, it has been selected for this study. The study focused on investigating the antifungal activities of phytochemicals extracted from the roots of M. lucida using ethanol, chloroform, and hexane against the post-harvest fungal pathogen L. theobromae using in vitro and computational techniques. The results indicated that all three extracts of M. lucida roots exhibited significant antifungal activity against L. theobromae. Among these, the ethanol extract demonstrated the highest growth inhibition, achieving a 81.6% growth inhibition, followed closely by the hexane extract with 77% inhibition and the chloroform extract at 75.9%. The observed inhibitory effects of the extracts can be attributed to the interactions of the phytochemicals present in the extracts with the receptor in the active site, as supported by the findings from molecular docking and DFT studies. Overall, the research suggests that M. lucida possesses considerable antifungal properties, particularly highlighting the ethanol extract as having the most potent inhibitory effect on fungal infections. Thus a research on the underlying mechanisms responsible for the observed antifungal activity will contribute to the development of effective and sustainable strategies for combating post-harvest fungal diseases in the agriculture and food industry.