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The extensive and repeated application of chemical fungicides results in the rapid development of fungicide resistance. Novel antifungal pesticides are urgently required. Natural products have been considered precious sources of pesticides. It is necessary to discover antifungal pesticides by using natural products. Herein, 42 various griseofulvin derivatives were synthesized. Their antifungal activities were evaluated in vitro. Most of them showed good antifungal activity, especially 3d exhibited a very broad antifungal spectrum and the most significant activities against 7 phytopathogenic fungi. In vivo activity results suggested that 3d protected apples and tomatoes from serious infection by phytopathogenic fungi. These proved that 3d had the potential to be a natural product-derived antiphytopathogenic fungi agent. Furthermore, docking analysis suggested that tubulin might be one of the action sites of 3d . It is reasonable to believe that griseofulvin derivatives are worth further development for the discovery of new pesticides.

With environmental pollution, residual hazards accumulate and severe drug resistance and many other problems appear; some highly toxic drugs have been banned, and antifungal agents are far from satisfactory. Natural products play an important role in the discovery and development of new pesticides. The natural product griseofulvin (1) has been known as an antifungal agent in the treatment of dermatomycoses for decades. In this study, a series of new griseofulvin derivatives were synthesized with good yields. Their structures were characterized by 1 H and 13 C nuclear magnetic resonance and high-resolution mass spectrometry (electrospray ionization). The antifungal activities of griseofulvin analogues were first evaluated against five phytopathogenic fungi ( Cytospora sp., Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, Botrytis cinerea, Alternaria solani, and Fusarium solani) in vitro. Of significance is that most of them showed excellent antifungal activities against C. gloeosporioides. The antifungal activities of the four best compounds (6a, 6c, 6e, and 6f) against C. gloeosporioides were further investigated in vivo using infected apples. The results suggested that compounds 6c, 6e, and 6f [half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC 50 ) = 47.25 ± 1.46, 49.44 ± 1.50, and 53.63 ± 1.74 μg/mL, respectively] were better than thiophanate-methyl (IC 50 = 69.66 ± 6.07 μg/mL). Furthermore, comparative molecular field analysis was performed on the basis of the antifungal activity results of all 22 of the compounds against C. gloeosporioides in vitro. The three-dimensional coefficient contour plots revealed that the suitable bulky and electronegative acyl-substituted groups seem to be more favorable for increasing activity at the 4' position of griseofulvin. The structure-activity relationships were also discussed. Griseofulvin derivatives can be used for the development of highly effective and safe agricultural fungicides.

5,6-Diarylpyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidines (3) and 6,7-diarylpyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidines (4) were chemoselectively synthesized by the condensation of isoflavone (1) and 3-aminopyrazole (2). 5,6-Diarylpyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidines (3) were obtained via microwave irradiation, and 6,7-diarylpyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidines (4) were obtained via conventional heating. In addition, the pyrimidine derivatives 3 and 4 were evaluated against five phytopathogenic fungi (Cytospora sp., Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, Botrytis cinerea, Alternaria solani, and Fusarium solani) using the mycelium growth rate method. Some of them were effective in inhibiting the growth of the five phytopathogenic fungi. For instance, 6,7-diarylpyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidines (4j) inhibited the growth of A. solani with an [Formula: see text] value of 17.11 [Formula: see text], and 6,7-diarylpyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidines (4h) inhibited the growth of both Cytospora sp. and F. solani with [Formula: see text] values of 27.32 and 21.04 [Formula: see text], respectively. A chemoselective synthesis of 5,6-pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidines 3 derivatives in excellent yields was performed under microwave irradiation and 6,7-pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidines 4 were also prepared using heating method. The antifungal properties of 3 and 4 were tested against Cytospora sp., Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, Botrytis cinerea, Alternaria solani, and Fusarium solani.

A series of 35 benzimidazole derivatives were synthesized from 2-chloromethyl-1H-benzimidazole in good yields. Their structures were characterized by (1)H and (13)C NMR and HRESIMS. Antifungal activities of all of the synthesized compounds were evaluated against five phytopathogens fungi (Cytospora sp., Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, Botrytis cinerea, Alternaria solani, and Fusarium solani) using the mycelium growth rate method. Compound 4m displayed strong growth inhibition of C. gloeosporioides, A. solani, and F. solani with IC50 of 20.76, 27.58, and 18.60 μg/mL, respectively. Selective inhibition of B. cinerea instead of the other fungal pathogenes was observed with 7f (IC50 of 13.36 μg/mL), comparable to that of positive control, a commercial agricultural fungicide hymexazol (IC50 of 8.92 μg/mL). Compound 5b exhibited remarkable antifungal properties against Cytospora sp., C. gloeosporioides, B. cinerea, and F. solani with IC50 values of 30.97, 11.38, 57.71, and 40.15 μg/mL, respectively; among the target fungi, 5b was the most active compound and superior to the reference against C. gloeosporioides alone. Structure-activity relationship (SAR) data of these compounds are as follows: (1) introduction of the chlorine atom on para-position in the benzene ring help to increase activity (4f vs 4c; 7f vs 7n), (2) the sulfonyl group is critical for the inhibition of C. gloeosporioides (5b and 5c vs 5a), and (3) the unsubstituted benzene ring improve activity (4m vs 4n, 4e and 4a). Thus, compounds 5b, 4m, and 7f emerged as a new leading structure for the development of new fungicides.