Antimicrobial Activity of Diffusible and Volatile Metabolites Emitted by Beauveria bassiana: Chemical Profile of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) Using SPME-GC/MS Analysis

: The genus Beauveria includes important entomopathogenic and endophytic fungi; among them, Beauveria bassiana is the most studied species. However, there is little knowledge regarding their antimicrobial activity. The current research has been conducted to evaluate the in vitro antagonistic activity of B. bassiana and the antimicrobial efficacy of its Exo and Endo metabolites against Bacillus cereus, B. megaterium, Clavibacter michiganensis (Gram positive bacteria, G+ve), Xanthomonas campestris, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and P. fluorescence (Gram negative bacteria, G-ve). In addition, solid-phase microextraction (SPME) was coupled with Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) to qualitatively measure the volatile organic compounds' (VOCs) metabolic profile of the most efficient studied isolate of B. bassiana. The obtained results showed that the isolate UniB2439-3 has a promising antibacterial effect against most of the studied target bacteria. An SPME-GC/MS analysis of VOCs revealed the presence of ethanol, butanal,2-methyl, 2,4-dimethyl-1-heptene, octane, 4-methyl and β-elemene as the dominant bioactive compounds. The results demonstrated that the efficient isolate of B. bassiana can be potentially used as a biocontrol agent against several bacteria, especially G+ve ones

HS-SPME-GC-MS analysis of onion (Allium cepa L.) and shallot (Allium ascalonicum L.)

The volatile organic compounds of onion and shallot were determined via HS-SPME-GC-MS. The main components were dipropyldisulphide and allylpropyldisulphide. Thiopropanal S-oxide were detected only in onion volatiles. In shallot is interesting the presence of 2-methyl-2-pentenal, a compound with an intense fruity aroma, that can characterize the different aroma between onion and shallot. The SPME-GC-MS analysis of shallot after absorption on the SPME fiber at 50°C showed the presence of new compounds, whose structures have been discussed

The photodimerisation of coumarin

The photochemical dimerisation of coumarin can be rationalised on the basis of simple ab initio calculations. The direct reaction, that occurs through the first excited singlet state. give the syn head-to-head dimer. This dimer can be obtained if the reaction occurs via a frontier orbitals control and if the reaction is concerted. The sensitised reaction gives the anti head-to-head dimer: this product can be obtained by assuming that the frontier orbitals control of the reaction is able to explain the observed regiochemical behaviour. The stereochemical bahaviour can be explained on the basis of the formation of the most stable biradical intermediate