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

Abstract

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 <i>Rhizoctonia solani</i> were evaluated. Strikingly, the biological activity of compound <b>D2</b> was obtained by optimizing the structure of the system. Subsequently, the practical value of compound <b>D2</b> was ascertained by the relative surveys on <i>in vivo</i> anti-<i>R. solani</i> and anti-<i>Colletotrichum gloeosporioides</i>. The results revealed by scanning electron microscopy demonstrated that compound <b>D2</b> could 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.