Identification of Nematicidal Constituents of Notopterygium incisum Rhizomes against Bursaphelenchus xylophilus and Meloidogyne incognita

During a screening program for new agrochemicals from Chinese medicinal herbs, the ethanol extract ofNotopterygium incisumrhizomes was found to possess strong nematicidal activity against the two species of nematodes,Bursaphelenchus xylophilusandMeloidogyne incognita. Based on bioactivity-guided fractionation, the four constituents were isolated from the ethanol extract and identified as columbianetin, falcarindiol, falcarinol, and isoimperatorin. Among the four isolated constituents, two acetylenic compounds, falcarindiol and falcarinol (2.20–12.60 μg/mL and 1.06–4.96 μg/mL, respectively) exhibited stronger nematicidal activity than two furanocoumarins, columbianetin, and isoimperatorin (21.83–103.44 μg/mL and 17.21–30.91 μg/mL, respectively) against the two species of nematodes,B. xylophilusandM. incognita. The four isolated constituents also displayed phototoxic activity against the nematodes. The results indicate that the ethanol extract ofN.incisumand its four isolated constituents have potential for development into natural nematicides for control of plant-parasitic nematodes.