Antiviral potential of Mirabilis jalapa root extracts against groundnut bud necrosis virus

Tomato bud blight disease is a serious constraint in tomato cultivation and causes greater yield loss which is caused by Groundnut bud necrosis (GBNV). The aim of our study is to assess the antiviral activity of plants extracts viz., Bougainvillea spectabilis, Mirabilis jalapa and Andrographis paniculata against GBNV in cowpea indicator host. The screening experiments were conducted in the glasshouse condition. The co-inoculation spray of 6% root extract of Mirabilis jalapa was effective in reducing the local lesions 1.50 lesions/cm2 and virus titre (0.28±0.001) in cowpea plants compared to inoculated control plants where it was 6 lesions/cm2 and 2.76±0.038 OD value in DAC-ELISA. Bioactive compounds viz., cyclohexane, 1, 3, 5- trimethyl-2-octadecyl-, dodecanoic acid in the root extract of M. jalapa were identified using Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Alcohol, halogens and phosphorus nature of the M. jalapa was identified using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. Among the plant extracts 6% Mirabilis jalapa root extract showed the highest inhibitory activity against GBNV.