A Simple and Rapid Method for Isolation of Alternaric Acid from Alternaria solani

Alternaric acid is the major toxin of Alternaria solani, the causative agent of early blight of tomato. A simple and rapid method has been developed for the isolation of alternaric acid in crystalline form from the fungal culture filtrate (FCF) with ethanol and carbon tetrachloride. The crystalline form of alternaric acid obtained was subjected to High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC), spectrophotometric analysis and detached leaf assay to confirm the purity and biological activity of alternaric acid. This one step protocol is superior to earlier reported methods and also gives higher yield.