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A potent allelopathic substance in cucumber plants and allelopathy of cucumber

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Abstract

A potent growth inhibitory substance was isolated from an aqueous methanol extract of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L. cv. Phung Tuong) plants and determined as (2S)-2,3-dihydro-2α-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-7-methoxy-5-(1,2,3-trihydroxypropyl)benzofuran-3β-methanol (sisymbrifolin) by spectral data. Sisymbrifolin inhibited the growth of cress (Lepidium sativum) and Echinochloa crus-galli seedlings at concentrations greater than 3 μM. Concentration of sisymbrifolin in the cucumber plants was the greatest among four growth inhibitory substances, (S)-2-benzoyloxy-3-phenyl-1-propanol, 9-hydroxy-4,7-megastigmadien-9-one, (6S,7E,9S)-6,9,10-trihydroxy-4,7-megastigmadien-3-one, and sisymbrifolin found in the cucumber, whereas growth inhibitory activity of 9-hydroxy-4,7-megastigmadien-9-one against cress and E. crus-galli was the greatest. Total activities of these substances (concentration of the substance/concentration required 50 % growth inhibition) were 14.4, 13.2, 8.5 and 10.7 for (S)-2-benzoyloxy-3-phenyl-1-propanol, 9-hydroxy-4,7-megastigmadien-9-one, (6S,7E,9S)-6,9,10-trihydroxy-4,7-megastigmadien-3-one and sisymbrifolin, respectively. These total activities were about 100-fold greater than those of phenolic acids, which are often mentioned as putative allelochemicals of plants. Thus, these substances may play important roles in the allelopathy of cucumber plants through the growth inhibition of neighboring plant species.

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Author notes

  1. Ho Le Thi

    Present address: Cuulong Delta Rice Research Institute, 9B Cach Mang Thang Tam Street, Ninh Kieu District, Codo, Cantho, Vietnam

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Applied Biological Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Kagawa University, Miki, Kagawa, 761-0795, Japan

    Hisashi Kato-Noguchi & Ho Le Thi

  2. Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University, 3-14-1 Hiyoshi, Kohoku, Yokohama, 223-8522, Japan

    Hiroaki Sasaki & Kiyotake Suenaga

Authors
  1. Hisashi Kato-Noguchi
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  2. Ho Le Thi
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  3. Hiroaki Sasaki
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  4. Kiyotake Suenaga
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hisashi Kato-Noguchi.

Additional information

Communicated by M. J. Reigosa.

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Kato-Noguchi, H., Le Thi, H., Sasaki, H. et al. A potent allelopathic substance in cucumber plants and allelopathy of cucumber. Acta Physiol Plant 34, 2045–2049 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-012-0997-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-012-0997-8

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