Insecticidal and antifungic proteins of the latex from Manihot glaziovii Muell. Arg.

Analysis of the latex from Manihot glaziovii showed the presence of various enzymatic and inhibitory activities. The latex also presented an inhibitory effect on the development of cowpea weevil (Callosobruchus maculatus) in an artificial seed system and on the development, in an in vitro assay, of phytopathogenic fungi Colletotrichum gloesporioides, Fusarium solani and Macrophomina phaseolina. These results suggest the presence of substances, some of them of protein nature, involved in plant defense mechanisms in this exudation product.