Design, Synthesis, and Antifungal Activity of Novel Chalcone Derivatives Containing a Piperazine Fragment

In an attempt to find the biorational pesticides, 20 novel chalcone derivatives containing a piperazine fragment were designed and synthesized. Their fungicidal activities and preliminarily action mechanism against Rhizoctonia solaniwere evaluated. Strikingly, the biological activity of compound D2was obtained by optimizing the structure of the system. Subsequently, the practical value of compound D2was ascertained by the relative surveys on in vivoanti-R. solaniand anti-Colletotrichum gloeosporioides. The results revealed by scanning electron microscopy demonstrated that compound D2could induce irregular and shrivelled growth of mycelium and rupture of the mycelium surface. This study indicates that chalcone derivatives containing a piperazine skeleton had better inhibitory effect on plant fungi, providing further complementary research on new pesticides.