Sweet chestnut standardized fractions from sustainable circular process and green tea extract: In vitro inhibitory activity against phytopathogenic fungi for innovative applications in green agriculture.

In the present study, the antifungal activities of two commercial tannins-rich dry fractions towards different filamentous fungi of agronomical and food interest were evaluated. In particular, a standardized fraction from sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) wood by-products and a commercial green tea (Camellia sinensis L.) leaf extract were tested at different concentrations (0.1-5.0% and 0.2% w/v respectively). The Sweet Chestnut Wood fraction was produced in an industrial plant through an environmentally and economically sustainable process, involving hot-water extraction and a sequence of membrane filtration steps with different molecular cut-offs for fractionation and concentration of the active principles. The Sweet Chestnut Wood and Green Tea Leaf extracts were characterised via HPLC/DAD/MS quali-quantitative analysis. The first extract showed a polyphenolic content of 20.5% w/w, 100% hydrolysable tannins; the second one showed a polyphenolic content of 87.5% w/w, of which 96.2% epigallocatechin gallate and 3.8% epicatechin gallate. The antifungal activity of the Sweet Chestnut fraction in aqueous solutions was evaluated towards different filamentous fungi, in particular telluric phytopathogens (Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. radicis-lycopersici; Fusarium solani; Rhizoctonia solani; Sclerotium rolfsii) and post harvest pathogens (Botrytis cinerea, that can also attack field plants; Penicillium digitatum; Penicillium italicum), and compared to the activity of Green Tea Leaf extract solutions. The experimental results evidenced, for almost all tested fungi, inhibition of the mycelial growth rate in presence of tannins. The lowest inhibitions were observed for B. cinerea (7.5%, to 28.9%) and P. italicum (53.8% in 5.0% w/v Sweet Chestnut extract substrate). A proportional inhibitory effect to tannin concentration was observed for F. oxysporum f. sp. radicis-lycopersici and F. solani (from 33.7% to 56.6%), R. solani (from 29.7% to 68.8%) and P. digitatum (64.7% to 87.0%). The highest effect resulted for S. rolfsii, (5.0% to 100%).