Abstract
Herbicides are commonly used to control weed. However, some plants are resistant to such products. To identify less harmful herbicides, it is crucial to search for different mechanisms of action. Thymol is an easily acquired allelopathic compound, capable of producing its respective semisynthetic derivative, thymoxyacetic acid. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of thymol and thymoxyacetic acid molecules as bioherbicides in greenhouse at the concentration of 3 mmol L−1 in pre- and postemergence applications in five species: Amaranthus viridis L., Cucumis sativus L., Lactuca sativa L., Eleusine indica L., and Sorghum bicolor L. The initial seedling development and DNA changes were analyzed. These molecules were contrasting with the solvent, in the negative control, and with the glyphosate, in the positive control, promoting phytogenotoxic activities. The toxic effect of thymoxyacetic acid was more effective in preemergence and thymol’s in postemergence. We also observed a reduction in the germination speed index and root growth with a negative correlation to the increase in potassium leaching. Damage to the root and shoot of the seedlings was verified at the DNA level, and the phytotoxicity of the plants treated with the herbicide glyphosate was similar to the plants treated with the natural molecules tested. The bioherbicidal effect of thymol and thymoxyacetic acid exacerbates the reduction of the environmental impact caused by the disordered and increased use of residual pesticides.
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Data availability
The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Funding
The authors thank the “Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico” (CNPq, Brasília—DF, Brazil) for funding (number: 408775/2018–1) and for the research grant to Milene Miranda Praça-Fontes, Patrícia Fontes Pinheiro and Taís Cristina Bastos Soares; the “Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior” (CAPES), for the financial support (Finance Code 001) and “Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa e Inovação do Espírito Santo” (FAPES, Vitória – ES, Brazil) for funding (grant 484/2021;2021-ZK8PJ and Cooperação CAPES/FAPES – PDPG) and for providing undergraduate research and master’s scholarships to the authors of this work.
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Carlos Eduardo de Oliveira Roberto, Patrícia Fontes Pinheiro, Thammyres de Assis Alves, Josimar Aleixo da Silva, Milene Miranda Praça-Fontes, Taís Cristina Bastos Soares. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Carlos Eduardo de Oliveira Roberto and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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de Oliveira Roberto, C.E., Pinheiro, P.F., de Assis Alves, T. et al. Phytogenotoxicity of thymol and semisynthetic thymoxyacetic acid in pre/post emergence of model plants and weeds. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 38955–38969 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-24753-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-24753-4