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Allelopathic activity of different plant parts of Peganum harmala L. and identification of their growth inhibitors substances

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Abstract

This study was conducted to evaluate the inhibitory potential of P. harmala leaf, stem and root extract on germination and growth of Avena fatua L. and Convolvulus arvensis L., as well as identification of the phytotoxic substances responsible for this activity. According to our results, the degree of toxicity of different P. harmala plant parts can be arranged in the following order: leaves > stems > roots. The two test species differed in their sensitivity to P. harmala extracts. Inhibitory effect on shoot length and seedling dry weight was more pronounced in C. arvensis, whereas higher reduction in germination, root length and total chlorophyll content occurred in A. fatua. A significant amount of water-soluble phenolic acids were found in P. harmala plant extracts. Total phenolic acids content was higher in leaf extracts when compared to that of stem or root extracts. Seven phenolic acids including gallic acid, vanillic acid, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid, caffeic acid, syringic acid and ferulic acid were found in P. harmala leaf extracts. On the other hand, we identified four phenolic acids from stem (galllic acid, vanillic acid, 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid and caffeic acid) and root (galllic acid, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, syringic acid and cinnamic acid) extracts. The greater number of growth inhibitors detected in the leaves might explain the stronger inhibitory activity. Overall, our results suggest that P. harmala might be used as a natural herbicide for weed control and consequently reduce dependence on synthetic herbicides.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Tropical and Subtropical Agronomy and Ethnobotany, Coupure Links 653, 9000, Ghent, Belgium

    Hamid Sodaeizadeh, Mohammad Rafieiolhossaini & Patrick Van Damme

  2. Department of Microbiology, Nutrition and Dietetics Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamycka 129, 16521, Praha 6 – Suchdol, Czech Republic

    Jaroslav Havlík

  3. Faculty of Natural Resources and Desert Study, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran

    Hamid Sodaeizadeh

  4. Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, Iran

    Mohammad Rafieiolhossaini

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  1. Hamid Sodaeizadeh
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  2. Mohammad Rafieiolhossaini
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  3. Jaroslav Havlík
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  4. Patrick Van Damme
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Correspondence to Hamid Sodaeizadeh.

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Sodaeizadeh, H., Rafieiolhossaini, M., Havlík, J. et al. Allelopathic activity of different plant parts of Peganum harmala L. and identification of their growth inhibitors substances. Plant Growth Regul 59, 227–236 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10725-009-9408-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10725-009-9408-6

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