Chemical Composition and Allelopathic Effect of Essential Oil of Litsea pungens

Abstract

Natural plant resources with herbicidal activity may be substitutes for synthetic chemical pesticides, likewise aromatic plant extracts, especially essential oils. Essential oil from Litsea pungens has been proved to possess a strong antibacterial property. Interestingly, we found the essential oil also showed a strong allelopathic capacity. Therefore, in the present work, the chemical composition of the essential oil from the fruit of L. pungens was analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). The weed control abilities of the essential oil were also further evaluated. The results show that the yield of essential oil extracted by steam distillation was 1.4%, and 17 compounds, mainly terpenoids, were identified by GC–MS. In allelopathic tests, the essential oil exhibited a negative effect on seed germination rate and seedling growth of Lolium perenne and Bidenspilosa. Moreover, chlorophyll content, malondialdehyde content, electrolyte leakage, catalase, superoxide dismutase and peroxidase of seedlings treated with essential oil were also negatively affected. This work could provide a better understanding of the rational utilization of L. pungens essential oil for crop cultivation and further development of environment-friendly herbicides.

Chemical Composition, Repellent, and Phytotoxic Potentials of the Fractionated Resin Essential Oil from Araucaria heterophylla Growing in Tunisia

“…Molecular docking is a virtual inspection known as an effective process to describe possible interactions between a bioactive molecule and a target enzyme. In recent years, numerous studies investigating the allelopathic effects of various EOs have demonstrated that these bio‐mixtures exert phytotoxic effects by inhibiting photosynthetic pigments, notably chlorophyll [79–81] . Following the demonstration of significant phytotoxicity induced by the REO, especially the fraction R 3 , on L. sativa seeds, the subsequent section aims to evaluate its potential impact on chlorophyll‘s photosynthetic stage.…”

“…In recent years, numerous studies investigating the allelopathic effects of various EOs have demonstrated that these bio-mixtures exert phytotoxic effects by inhibiting photosynthetic pigments, notably chlorophyll. [79][80][81] Following the demonstration of significant phytotoxicity induced by the REO, especially the fraction R 3 , on L. sativa seeds, the subsequent section aims to evaluate its potential impact on chlorophyll's photosynthetic stage. Thus, it is intended in this part of the present work to dock the structures of the majority constituents of REO within the active pocket of the crystal structure of the enzyme protoporphyrinogen IX oxidase (PDB: 1SEZ), a key enzyme in the biosynthesis of chlorophyll.…”

Chemical profile of Juniperus excelsa M. Bieb. essential oil within and between populations and its weed seed suppression effect

“…Since we have not tested pure substances in this study, we cannot determine the exact input of each ingredient of EO on the observed effects. According to reported data for limonene, α -pinene, camphene, β -pinene, borneol, pulegone, carvacrol, thymol, p -cymene, and 1,8-cineole, there were suggestions for their allelopathy potential [ 65 , 74 , 75 ]. The latter authors used whole EO, and as is well known, the EOs are mixes of compounds and it is difficult to determine which compounds exactly have an herbicidal effect.…”

Allelopathic Effects of Amomum villosum Lour. Volatiles from Different Organs on Selected Plant Species and Soil Microbiota

“…The two species were chosen for our growth experiments because of their uniform seedling emergence and high germination rates. For these reasons, they are frequently used as standard monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants, respectively, in allelopathic research [54][55][56][57].…”