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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Mycology and Nematology Genetic Diversity and Biology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #422713
Research Project: Plant-associated Nematode Management and Systematics and USDA Nematode Collection Curation

Location: Mycology and Nematology Genetic Diversity and Biology Laboratory

Title: Saponins, the unexplored secondary metabolites in plant defense: opportunities in integrated pest management

Author
item SHAKEEL, ADNAN - Indian Institute For Integrated Medicine
item NOOR, JEWEL - Indian Institute For Integrated Medicine
item JAN, UZMA - Central University Of Jammu
item GUL, AABIDA - Central University Of Jammu
item Handoo, Zafar
item ASHRAF, NASHEEMAN - Central University Of Jammu

Submitted to: Plants
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/3/2025
Publication Date: 3/10/2025
Citation: Shakeel, A., Noor, J., Jan, U., Gul, A., Handoo, Z.A., Ashraf, N. 2025. Saponins, the unexplored secondary metabolites in plant defense: opportunities in integrated pest management. Plants. 14(6):861. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14060861.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14060861

Interpretive Summary: Plant-parasitic nematodes are microscopic worms that feed on plants and cause an estimated ten billion dollars of crop losses each year in the United States and 100 billion dollars globally. In response to nematodes and other plant pests and diseases, plants produce chemicals that protect them from these attackers. One class of defensive chemicals are saponins. To reduce pesticide use, saponins and other plant defense chemicals can be harnessed to develop novel disease management strategies. This review provides a first holistic review on the role of saponins with known mechanisms against all the major plant pathogens/pests. Therefore, it will be used by scientists, diagnosticians, growers, action agencies, and extension agencies involved in nematode research and control.

Technical Abstract: Plants being sessile in nature, are exposed to a diverse range of biotic stressors, including fungi, bacteria, nematodes, insects, and viruses. To combat these enemies, plants have developed an arsenal of defense mechanisms over time, among which secondary metabolites are the most effective. Moreover, to overcome the negative impact of chemical pesticides, the plant secondary metabolites can be harnessed to develop novel disease management strategies. Alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenes, and essential oils are major pathogen/pest responsive secondary metabolite classes in plants. Among these, saponins have shown significant potential in suppressing a wide range of plant pathogens. However, they are yet to be explored thoroughly compared to other secondary metabolites in plant defense and therefore, the least number of disease control agents exist in agri-markets based on saponins. Thus, this review aims to rectify this bias by identifying and acknowledging the significance of saponins on par with other classes of secondary metabolites in plant defense system. It also provides a first holistic review on the role of saponins with known mechanisms against all the major plant pathogens/pests. Moreover, this review article discusses the synthetic biology of saponin derivates for integrated pest management (IPM) and prospectives on the potential of saponins in developing novel eco-friendly biocides.