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Begin forwarded message:

> From: ARS News Service <NewsService@ars.usda.gov>
> Date: Fri Aug 29, 2003  4:37:26 AM US/Pacific
> To: ARS News subscriber <memexikon@mwt.net>
> Subject: Peppers Could Halt Fruit Mold
> Reply-To: ARS News Service <NewsService@ars.usda.gov>
>
> STORY LEAD:
> Peppers To Die For: These "Hot" Plants Could Protect Strawberries --
> and More
> ___________________________________________
>
> ARS News Service
> Agricultural Research Service, USDA
> Erin Kendrick-Peabody, (301) 504-1624, ekpeabody@ars.usda.gov
> August 29, 2003
> ___________________________________________
>
> What's the connection between fiery cayenne peppers that give heat to
> Creole cuisine, and the sweet, juicy strawberries of summertime?
>
> A potent substance found in cayenne peppers may someday be used by
> growers to battle the costly molds that can spoil strawberry, blueberry
> and grape crops. Last year, Agricultural Research Service scientists
> received a patent for a novel fungicide, called CAY-1, which is derived
> from cayenne peppers. Now they are looking to find out how well its
> fungal-fighting powers work on strawberry molds.
>
> Anthony De Lucca, a microbiologist at ARS' Southern Regional Research
> Center in New Orleans, La., teamed up with plant pathologists David
> Wedge at ARS' Natural Products Utilization Research Unit in Oxford,
> Miss., and Barbara Smith at the agency's Small Fruit Research Station,
> Poplarville, Miss., to test CAY-1's efficacy on fungi that afflict
> strawberries. With a year of promising plant and laboratory results
> behind them, the scientists are conducting greenhouse studies that may
> pave the way to CAY-1's commercial availability.
>
> De Lucca isolated the CAY-1 saponin in his lab five years ago, while
> searching for natural compounds to shield crops from infesting fungi.
> Found widely in plants, saponins have detergent properties, causing 
> them
> to foam when shaken with water. Like laundry detergent that works by
> penetrating a fabric's fiber, the cayenne saponin breaches fungal cells
> by forming little holes along cell membranes.
>
> CAY-1 has been shown to be active at low levels against Collectotrichum
> and Phomopsis, two economically important fungal pathogens affecting
> strawberries and other small fruits. In strawberries, Phomopsis causes
> serious leaf blight and fruit disease.
>
> But CAY-1's potential doesn't stop at crops. This powerful natural
> derivative could support a range of applications, says De Lucca.
> Possible uses include a mosquito larvacide, a molluscicide to rein in
> the prolific zebra mussel that's fouling water supplies in the Great
> Lakes, and a mildew-zapping bathroom product.
>
> Already attracting industry attention, CAY-1's antifungal activity is
> the focus of studies by several commercial companies. ARS is providing
> the cooperators with the cayenne extract.
>
> ARS is USDA's chief scientific research agency.
> ___________________________________________
>
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