Initially this work was aimed to identify plant methanolic extracts toxic in vitro to the nematode Panagrellus redivivus. Among 24 plant species studied, Leucaena leucocephala afforded the best results, as 93% of the nematodes were dead after exposure to its extract during 24 h. Thus, such extract was submitted to a purification process guided by in vitro assays with P. redivivus. As a result, one substance active against such nematode was isolated. According to preliminary analysis, that seems to be an alkaloid.
