Activities of Compound G2 Isolated from Alfalfa

a search for new antimycotic agents. A recently isolated compound, 02, which was extracted from the roots of alfalfa plants, showed considerable activity against plant pathogenic fungi (6) and medically important yeasts (8, 9). Compound G2 was identified as the gluco derivative of medicagenic acid (MA), the major occurring saponin aglycon of alfalfa roots (1). It has been suggested that the antimycotic activity of compound G2 is related to the ability of alfalfa saponins to complex with sterols and that fungi susceptible to these compounds contain relatively higher proportions of sterols in their membranes (1). Numerous crude saponin extracts from other plants have also been shown to possess ant'imycotic activity (3, 4). The present study describes the fungicidal effect of compound 'G2, which was found to' be superior to all other chemically related compounds (listed below) against the six most common dermatophytes. Dermatophytes 'were isolated from clinical specimens taken from various body sites of patients. Dermatophyte isolates were identified by conventional methods (11) and maintained on potato dextrose agar (PDA) prepared from 20 g of potato infusion (Difco Laboratories), 20 g of dextrose (Difco), and 2.5 g of yeast extract per liter at pH 5.6. The