Abstract
Vanillin oxime-N-O-alkanoates were synthesized following reaction of vanillin with hydroxylamine hydrochloride, followed by reaction of the resultant oxime with acyl chlorides. The structures of the compounds were confirmed by IR, 1H, 13C NMR and mass spectral data. The test compounds were evaluated for their in vitro antifungal activity against three phytopathogenic fungi Macrophomina phaseolina, Rhizoctonia solani and Sclerotium rolfsii by the poisoned food technique. The moderate antifungal activity of vanillin was slightly increased following its conversion to vanillin oxime, but significantly increased after conversion of the oxime to oxime-N-O-alkanoates. While vanillin oxime-N-O-dodecanoate with an EC50 value 73.1 μg/mL was most active against M. phaseolina, vanillin oxime-N-O-nonanoate with EC50 of value 66.7 μg/mL was most active against R. solani. The activity increased with increases in the acyl chain length and was maximal with an acyl chain length of nine carbons.