The herb, Stemona sessilifolia, has been used for parasitic infections in traditional Chinese medicine for hundreds of years. Recently, researchers have identified 10 compounds that might contribute to its anti-parasitic faculties. All ten compounds are bi-products of symbiotic microbes that reside within the plant’s cells, and are not apart of the plant itself. Their study is published in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
Symbiotic microbes found in Stemona sessilifolia, Endophytes, enhance the plant's ability to grow, acquire nutrients, and resistant environmental stressors like drought. Researchers Xiachang Wang, Lihong Hu and colleagues investigated the insecticidal activity of S. sessilifolia endophytes with hopes of discovering new medicinal and agrochemical compounds.
The research team utilized magnetic resonance spectroscopy and mass spectrometry to purify the 10 new compounds from the bacteria. Their structures were found to be similar to a class of insecticides known as pyrroles. Exposure tests to aphids found the substances to be highly potent insecticide and moderately toxic when exposed to spider mites. Tests containing all compounds had a greater toxicity than testing each compound in isolation.