Development of novel pesticides based on phytoalexins: Part 2. Quantitative structure-activity relationships of 2-heteroaryl-4-chromanone derivatives.

Phytoalexins are low-molecular-weight chemicals that immune systems of plants produce and accumulate in response to infections, especially those of fungal origin. Although their content is not high in plants, yet they have shown unique fungicidal activity and played an important role in the defence system of plants. In searching for novel environmentally benign fungicides with high activity, the structures of flavanone derivatives, one of the most important phytoalexins groups, have been modified via bioisosteric substitution and a series of 2-heteroaryl-4-chromanones were designed and synthesized. They showed good fungicidal activities against rice blast disease, Pyricularia grisea (Sacc). Their IC50 values were tested in vitro and the relationship between structure and fungicidal activity was analyzed quantitatively using a Hansch-Fujita approach. The results showed that hydrophobicity was very important for fungicidal activity and there is apparently an optimum hydrophobic property for the molecules at a log Pow value of about 2.7. In addition, the results indicated that electronic effects played an important role in binding with the receptor and that the C=O group was probably a electron-accepting site. The quantitative structure-retention correlative equation of the title compounds was also established.