title: Use of a substrate/alliinase combination to generate antifungal activity in situ.
abstract: Allicin, an active ingredient of garlic, possesses a range of antimicrobial properties. Unfortunately, certain properties of the compound, such as chemical instability and low miscibility with water, have hampered its practical use in the past. Here, we show that it is possible to use a binary system consisting of the plant enzyme alliinase and its substrate alliin to generate allicin, and hence antifungal activity, in situ. During application, the two inactive components generate compounds that inhibit growth and infection-related development of the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe grisea. It is therefore possible to "trigger" biological activity in a controlled, yet effective manner. Apart from circumventing many of the drawbacks of allicin, this binary system has additional important advantages, such as low toxicity of its individual components and selective activation. Importantly, alliinase is also able to use different substrates, therefore paving the way to a range of novel, binary antimicrobial systems with custom-made chemical and biochemical properties.
authors.affiliation: School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter, Devon EX4 4QD, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Fiona H
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Fry
authors.forename: Neal
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Okarter
authors.forename: Camilla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Baynton-Smith
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Kershaw
authors.forename: Nicholas J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Talbot
authors.forename: Claus
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jacob
mesh_terms: D013437:Carbon-Sulfur Lyases / Q000378:metabolism*; D003545:Cysteine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000378:metabolism*; D004220:Disulfides; D005659:Fungicides, Industrial / Q000378:metabolism / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D020082:Magnaporthe / Q000187:drug effects*; D008668:Metallothionein / Q000737:chemistry; D013441:Sulfinic Acids / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015032:Zinc / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D004220:Disulfides; D005659:Fungicides, Industrial; D013441:Sulfinic Acids; C006452:allicin; C006453:alliin; D008668:Metallothionein; D013437:Carbon-Sulfur Lyases; C019243:alliin lyase; D015032:Zinc; D003545:Cysteine