Survey on fungal diseases of medicinal plants in Japan
2009
Sano, M. | Susuki, K. | Kobayashi, T. | Natsuaki, K.T., Tokyo Univ. of Agriculture, Tokyo (Japan)
A great potential of medicinal plants as natural and genetic resources has been recognized. In Japan, however, the study on diseases and their causal fungi on medicinal plants has not been conducted sufficiently. Thus a series of surveys on diseases of wild and cultivated medicinal plants were organized including some traditional and/or Chinese medicinal plants for several years. In the surveys since 2004, over 90 diseased plant samples in 69 genera from 43 families were collected from a total of 12 locations in 8 prefectures in Japan. After observation of symptom development, fungi in over 32 genera were detected and identified mainly by morphological characteristics. Among them, 3 new fungal diseases diseases by Alternaria alternate on Petasites fragrans (sweet colts foot), Septoria tussilaginis on Farfugium japonicum and Psedocercospora evodiicola on Evodia rutaecarpa were reported for the first time in Japan. Six fungi from Aralia cordata, Arbutus unedo (cane apple), Glycyrrhiza glabra (licorice), Helleborus niger (Christmas rose), Paederia scanderns, and Zingiber miioga, respectively, were also partially identified as possible new pathogens and/or new species which have not been previously described. The study on fungal diseases of medicinal plants is significant for conservation and stable production of such useful plants. The evaluation of impact of fungal infection on quantity and quality of pharmaceutical substances should also be focused in the future. The present study showed the diversified fungal flora on medicinal plants in Japan.
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