Phytotoxic Activities of Mediterranean Essential Oils

Abstract

Twelve essential oils from Mediterranean aromatic plants were tested for their phytotoxic activity, at different doses, against the germination and the initial radicle growth of seeds of Raphanus sativus, Lactuca sativa and Lepidium sativum. The essential oils were obtained from Hyssopus officinalis, Lavandula angustifolia, Majorana hortensis, Melissa officinalis, Ocimum basilicum, Origanum vulgare, Salvia officinalis and Thymus vulgaris (Lamiaceae), Verbena officinalis (Verbenaceae), Pimpinella anisum, Foeniculum vulgare and Carum carvi (Apiaceae). The germination and radicle growth of tested seeds were affected in different ways by the oils. Thyme, balm, vervain and caraway essential oils were more active against both germination and radicle elongation.

Chemical Composition and Inhibitory Effects of Essential Oils on Germination and Seedling Growth of Barnyard Grass, Echinochloa crusgalli L.

“…Thus, the essential oils with high content of oxygenated monoterpenes showed stronger phytotoxic effects than the essential oils with low content of oxygenated monoterpenes and high content of monoterpene hydrocarbons. This finding is in congruent with earlier studies on the bioactivity of essential oils and monoterpenes in which the potent inhibition of seed germination and seedling growth was linked to the present of high percentage of oxygenated monoterpenes (Scrivanti et al, 2003;Almeida et al, 2010).…”

“…Similarly, the oil of R. officinalis reduced the seedling growth of of Cynodon dactylon L., Festuca arundinacea L. and Lolium peranne L. (Saharkhiz et al, 2009). Moreover, the oil of O. vulgare inhibited the radicle growth of Raphanus sativus L., Lactuca sativa L. and Lepidium sativum L. (Almeida et al, 2010). The inhibitory effect of the essential oils of C. sempervirens and C. sinensis on the seedling growth of common crop weeds was described (Amri et al, 2013;Ribeiro and Lima, 2012).…”

Fitotoxicidad De Aceites Esenciales Y Extractos Acuosos De Plantas Mediterráneas Para El Control De Arvenses

“…La mayoría de trabajos que estudian la actividad alelopática de determinadas especies, normalmente se centran en ensayar el poder inhibitorio del aceite esencial (Dudai et al, 1999;Angelini et al, 2003;Scrivanti et al, 2003;Arminante et al, 2006;Azirak y Karaman, 2008;Verdeguer et al, 2009;Rolim de Almeida et al, 2010;Verdeguer et al, 2011) o de los extractos, principalmente acuosos (Dias et al, 1995(Dias et al, y 2004Fernández et al, 2006;Bagavathy y Xavier, 2007;Naseem et al, 2009), y en menor manera, extractos orgánicos (Yun y Choi, 2003;Pérez-Leal et al, 2005;Azizi y Fuji, 2006), sobre la germinación y el crecimiento de otras especies, pero en comparación con los anteriores, son relativamente pocos los trabajos que contrastan al mismo tiempo la actividad fitotóxica de aceites esenciales y extractos acuosos de la misma planta (Lee et al, 2002;Rosado et al, 2009). …”

“…Se han llevado a cabo diversos ensayos sobre la actividad fitotóxica o alelopá-tica del aceite esencial de T. vulgaris frente a la germinación y el crecimiento de arvenses, como Chenopodium album, Portulaca oleracea y Echinochloa crus-galli y cultivos: Raphanus sativus, Capsicum annuum, Lactuca sativa, Triticum aestivum, entre muchas otras especies, mostrando gran actividad (Dudai et al, 1999;Angelini et al, 2003;Arminante et al, 2006;Rolim de Almeida et al, 2010).…”

Allelopathic activity of Nepeta nuda L. subsp. nuda water extracts

“…Different medicinal plants from Lamiaceae family have been studied for their allelopatic potential. Allelopathy of essential oils has been documented [4,5,6,7]. There are also data on presence of water soluble substances in plant tissues [8,9,10].…”