Effects of the fermentation product of herbs by lactic acid bacteria against phytopathogenic filamentous fungi and on the growth of host plants.

The fermentation product of herbs by lactic acid bacteria (FHL) was assayed for antifungal activities against Rosellinia necatrix, Helicobasidium mompa, Fusarium oxysporum, Pythium graminicola and Pyricularia oryzae. FHL completely inhibited the growth of R. necatrix, H. mompa, P. graminicola and P. oryzae, and reduced the growth of F. oxysporum by 35%. When the seeds of Medicago sativa L. (alfalfa), Asparagus officinalis L. (asparagus), Brassica campestris L. (komatsuna), Oryza sativa L. (rice), Spinacia oleracea L. (spinach), Festuca arundinacea Schreb. (tall fescue), and Lycopersicum esculentum Mill. (tomato) were put on plates containing 0.69 mg/ml FHL, their germination rates did not decrease. The root elongation of A. officinalis, B. campestris, O. sativa, and L. esculentum seedlings was suppressed on plates containing 6.92 mg/ml FHL, but the root elongation of M. sativa was not suppressed on the 6.92 mg/ml FHL plate. When FHL was diluted to less than 1.73 mg/ml, the diluted FHL solution did not suppress the germination of B. campestris seeds, but it suppressed the root elongation of B. campestris seedlings. An FHL concentration higher than 0.35 mg/ml hastened the growth of seedlings of B. campestris in the presence of a chemical fertilizer but delayed the growth of these seedlings in the absence of the chemical fertilizer, suggesting that inorganic elements could affect the efficiency of FHL.

Antifungal activity of the fermentation product of herbs by lactic acid bacteria against tinea.

The fermentation product of herbs by lactic acid bacteria (FHL), in which Enterococcus faecalis TH10 predominated, was assayed for antifungal activity against tinea. The antifungal activity of FHL was as high as that of a synthetic fungicide. Autoclaving FHL did not reduce its antifungal activity, whereas neutralizing it did. The results suggested that nonproteinaceous compounds or organic acids in FHL could inhibit the growth of the dermatophyte tinea under low-pH conditions, and that malonic acid and acetic acid could have especially high antifungal activity against tinea.