In a search for naturally occurring antimicrobial compounds in medicinal plants and herbs, seven flavanones were isolated from the aerial parts of Rhododendron hainanense and were tested for their antimicrobial activities against six bacteria and six plant pathogenic fungi. Within the series of flavanones tested, farrerol (1) displayed moderate antibacterial activities against Bacillus cereus, B. subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Erwinia carotovora, with MICs ranging from 15.6 to 125 μg/mL. Furthermore, farrerol (1) exhibited excellent inhibitory activities against six plant pathogenic fungi: Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, Penicillium italicum, Rhizoctonia solani, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubenserace and Phytophthora melonis, with EC50 values of 9, 18, 35, 39, 46 and 66 μg/mL, respectively. This is the first report on farrerol with anti-plant pathogenic fungal activities.
