Abstract

The methanol extract of aerial parts of Alstonia scholaris (sapthaparna) was found to possess good nematicidal activity against the plant parasitic nematode, Meloidogyne incognita. The active nematicidal compound was isolated from the methanol extract by column chromatographic techniques and purified by TLC. Chemical structure was determined by chemical and spectroscopic methods to be that of a sweroside. This is the first report of its isolation from A. scholaris. Among other pure compounds: 4, 6 and 7, it showed maximum mortality of 71, 89 and 91%, respectively, after 24 h, while after 48 h, compounds 4, 6 and 7 showed 88, 74 and 76% mortality, respectively. The plant is of economic importance having nematicidal value. These results showed that the compounds isolated from A. scholaris have potent nematicidal activity and may be responsible for the antinematicidal activity of whole plant.

Key words: Meloidogyne incognita, Alstonia scholaris, iridoid, Apocynaceae, triterpenoids, nematicide.